Evaluation of natural compounds activity against oxidative stress and neuroinflammation. Implications for Alzheimer’s disease

Resumo

Population aging has led to an increase in neurodegenerative illnesses prevalence worldwide, being Alzheimer’s disease the most common dementia. Currently, there are no treatments able to delay this pathology, so the search for new molecules capable of altering its progression is a great challenge. Natural compounds, with a great chemical structural diversity, harbour an exceptional pharmacological potential related to their ability to modulate oxidative stress and neuroinflammation, key mechanisms in this disease. In this doctoral thesis, 45 marine-derived compounds and 15 fruit beverages have been evaluated to make an initial determination of their capacity to treat and prevent the illness. Some of the compounds and drinks presented neuroprotective effects, preserving the mitochondrial function and activating the endogenous antioxidant systems. Moreover, they were able to modulate the microglial inflammatory response, enhancing their protective effects. The promising results obtained, mainly related to their antioxidant and immunomodulatory properties, make them promising candidates as anti-Alzheimer's drugs.