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Nutrients
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The Effect of Natural Extracts on Aging and Neurodegenerative Diseases
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The Effect of Natural Extracts on Aging and Neurodegenerative Diseases

A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutrition and Neuro Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 June 2025 | Viewed by 1073

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Carla Masala

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biomedical Sciences, Section of Physiology, University of Cagliari, 09100 Cagliari, Italy
Interests: olfactory function; gustatory function; neurodegenerative diseases; cognitive function; COVID-19; nutrition
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Antonella Rosa

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Cagliari, 09124 Cagliari, Italy
Interests: natural extracts; food components; nutraceuticals; antioxidants; lipids
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Aging, a progressive physiological degeneration of all physiological functions, is associated with cognitive decline and deficits in the sensory system. The causes of aging include oxidative damage, mitochondrial genome damage, and telomere shortening. In aging, an increase in reactive oxygen and reactive nitrogen species can be observed, and, consequently, a decrease in endogenous defense mechanisms, which are considered potential causes of many neurodegenerative diseases. 

The effects of aging make healthy older adults more vulnerable to disability and illness conditions, representing a serious global health problem and increasing healthcare spending. Neurodegenerative diseases are a group of disorders caused by the degradation and subsequent loss of neurons.

Natural extracts are amply used for nutritional, nutraceutical, and pharmacological applications. Studies have shown that natural extracts and bioactive compounds (such as anthocyanins, flavonoids, phenylpropanoids, and terpenes, among others) may exert anti-aging, antioxidant, and neuroprotective effects, with positive impacts on human health. Moreover, natural extracts have been proposed as a strategy to compensate chemosensory deficits in older adults.

The aim of this Special Issue is to extend the current knowledge on the potential health benefits of natural extracts on aging and neurodegenerative diseases and to develop new natural strategies to promote a better quality of life.

For this purpose, we invite colleagues to share their recent research on this topic. Original research articles, review articles, and short communications are invited.

Dr. Carla Masala
Dr. Antonella Rosa
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nutrients is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • natural extracts
  • aging
  • neurodegenerative diseases
  • medicinal plants
  • human health
  • chemosensory perception

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

20 pages, 5502 KiB  
Article
Investigating the Impact of Sorghum on Tau Protein Phosphorylation and Mitochondrial Dysfunction Modulation in Alzheimer’s Disease: An In Vitro Study
by Nasim Rezaee, Eugene Hone, Hamid Sohrabi, Rasheed Abdulraheem, Stuart K. Johnson, Stuart Gunzburg, Ralph N. Martins and W. M. A. D. Binosha Fernando
Nutrients 2025, 17(3), 516; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17030516 - 30 Jan 2025
Viewed by 886
Abstract
Background: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with poorly understood pathology. Elevated tau, phospho-tau and mitochondrial dysfunction are significantly correlated with an increased risk of AD and are therefore targets for disease-modifying therapy. In this study, we examined the effects of [...] Read more.
Background: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with poorly understood pathology. Elevated tau, phospho-tau and mitochondrial dysfunction are significantly correlated with an increased risk of AD and are therefore targets for disease-modifying therapy. In this study, we examined the effects of polyphenolic extracts from six different varieties of sorghum: Shawaya short black-1 (Black), IS1311C (Brown), QL33/QL36 (Red), B923296 (Red), QL12 (White), and QL33 (Red) on the attenuation of beta amyloid-induced phospho-tau levels, total tau levels, and mitochondrial dysfunction in neuronal cells. Method: Tau proteins (231 (pT231), Serine- 199 (pS199), and total tau proteins (T-tau)) were detected and quantified using sandwich ELISA kits, while mitochondrial dysfunction was measured in terms of mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels. Results: Almost all varieties of the sorghum extracts reduced the beta amyloid-induced pS199 and pT231 levels (p ≤ 0.05). The optimum concentration of QL33/QL36 (1000 µg/mL), QL12 (2000 µg/mL), and QL33 (2000 µg/mL) strongly attenuated the phospho-tau level. Sorghum IS1311C (750 µg/mL) showed the highest Δψm reduction (39.8%), whereas QL33 (2000 µg/mL) most strongly improved the ATP level (37.7%) (p ≤ 0.01). For both Δψm and ATP assays, the least activity was observed in sorghum B923296 at 21% and 25.5%, respectively (p ≤ 0.01). Conclusions: The polyphenol extracts from sorghum attenuated the tau toxicity and Aβ-induced mitochondrial dysfunction in a variety- and dose-dependent manner and made a promising disease-modifying agent against AD. However, extensive research is needed to validate the efficacy of the sorghum extracts prior to animal and clinical studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effect of Natural Extracts on Aging and Neurodegenerative Diseases)
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