Naturally Occurring Bioactive Compounds, Neuroinflammation and Cognitive Dysfunction: Molecular and Biochemical Mechanisms
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Pharmacology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 May 2025)
Special Issue Editor
Interests: bioactive compounds; oxidative stress; Neuroprotection; microalgae; alzheimer’s disease; β-secretase; cholinesterases
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The nervous system plays a major role in controlling immunity and regulating responses to inflammatory challenges. However, dysregulation in immune cells occurs due to exposure to internal and external influences and has become a pathological hallmark for the development and progression of many neurological diseases including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, cerebral malaria, and others. Neuroinflammation involves the activation of the brain’s innate immune system in response to an inflammatory challenge and is characterized by a host of cellular and molecular changes within the brain. Glial cells, most notably astrocytes and microglia, become activated. Neuroinflammatory processes trigger the synthesis and release of pro-inflammatory markers such as chemokines, cytokines and prostanoids. Neuroinflammation is often accompanied by the disruption of the blood–brain barrier and increased numbers of infiltrating leukocytes, neuronal toxicity and, ultimately, neurodegeneration. The cellular and molecular changes triggered by neuroinflammatory processes and mechanisms have been linked to reduced social behaviours, as well as cognitive and neurobehavioural deficits.
Neuroinflammation plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases characterized by the loss of memory, behavioural impairment, motor dysfunction, etc. As neuronal degeneration progresses in the brain, microglia activation, neuroinflammatory processes and neuronal damage are indicators of neuropathological changes that occur in neurodegenerative diseases.
In recent years, scientific studies on the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases have focused on the use of anti-inflammatory agents. Plants and plant foods are used to prevent or alleviate neurodegeneration by modulating inflammation mediators in different models. The use of dietary food nutraceuticals/supplements, as well as medicinal plants, is becoming increasingly popular for eating healthily and, in prophylaxis, for the treatment of diseases.
In this Research Topic, we invite submissions focusing on the biochemical and molecular basis of the anti-neuroinflammatory and cognitive-enhancing effects of medicinal foods, plants and naturally occurring bioactive compounds in neuronal cells, C. elegans, Zebrafish, Drosophila melanogaster and rat/mouse models, with the aim of improving and mitigating the progression of neurodegenerative diseases. The Research Topic welcomes original research and review articles focusing on, but not limited to, the following themes:
- Anti-neuroinflammatory potential of medicinal plants, foods and natural compounds, and an assessment of different inflammatory markers and pathways in the central nervous system.
- The impact of medicinal plants and naturally occurring bioactive compounds on microglia in different experiment models.
- Association between neuroinflammatory mechanisms and memory impairment or neurobehavioural deficits, and the identification of natural compounds and medicinal plants and foods that can therapeutically prevent or mitigate cognitive deficit and behavioural dysfunction.
- Effect of plants and natural compounds on cognitive and neurobehavioural deficits using several paradigms.
- Molecular and biochemical mechanisms of the memory-enhancing effects of medicinal plants and natural compounds, targeting the expression of genes, proteins and molecular pathways, biochemical markers, neurotransmitters, etc.
- The role of medicinal plants, plant foods and bioactive compounds as antioxidants, and their contributory effects to neuroinflammation, cognitive impairment and behavioural deficit.
Dr. Tosin Olasehinde
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- neuroinflammation
- cognitive dysfunction
- medicinal plants
- bioactive compounds
- neurodegenerative diseases
- molecular mechanisms
- anti-inflammatory
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