Gulacti Topcu
Bezmialem Vakif University, Turkey
Title: Natural cholinesterase inhibitors isolated from anatolian plants
Biography
Biography: Gulacti Topcu
Abstract
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, accompanied by dementia, which affects about 38million people worldwide by 2014. The pathogenesis of AD is fairly complex, and besides genetic factors, environmental factors may play important role. Since the cholinergic system plays an important role in the regulation of learning and memory processes, it has been targeted for the design of anti-Alzheimer's drugs. Cholinesterase inhibitors enhance cholinergic transmission directly by inhibiting cholinesterase enzymes, particularly acetylcholinesterase. However, both AChEBuChEenzymes may play an important role in amyloid β aggregation during the early stages of senile plaque formation. The major AD therapeutics available on the market are acetylcholinesterase inhibitors; tacrin, donepezil, rivastigmin and galanthamine besides an NMDA receptor antagonist memantine. But, none of them can provide a satisfactory cure for Alzheimer's disease. Therefore, there is an immediate requirement more efficient drugs than ones prescribed by the physcians at the moment. In our ongoing studies on natural products in drug discovery, we have investigated potential anti-cholinesterase compounds isolated from several plant families. Among them, terpenoids, particularly abietanediterpenoids take an important place in both prevention and treatment of AD, as well as some flavonoids and other phenolics. In this study, a number of compounds including a series terpenoids, flavonoids and a few phenolics isolated from namely Anatolian Lamiaceae family plants have been assayed for anticholinesterase activity tests besides antioxidant and antiradical properties in vitro. The compounds which showed at least 50% inhibition against one of the cholinesterase enzymes at 200 microM were tested in five concentrations to determine their IC50 values.