From kitchen to clinic: Pharmacotherapeutic potential of common spices in Indian cooking in age-related neurological disorders

Abstract

Aging is described as an advanced time-related collection of changes that may negatively affect with the risk of several diseases or death. Aging is a main factor of several age-related neurological disorders, including neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and dementia), stroke, neuroinflammation, neurotoxicity, brain tumors, oxidative stress, and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Currently available medications for age-related neurological disorders may lead to several side effects, such as headache, diarrhea, nausea, gastrointestinal (GI) diseases, dyskinesia, and hallucinosis. These days, studies on plant efficacy in traditional medicine are being conducted because herbal medicine is affordable, safe, and culturally acceptable and easily accessible. The Indian traditional medicine system called Ayurveda uses several herbs and medicinal plants to treat various disorders including neurological disorders. This review aims to summarize the data on the neuroprotective potential of the following common Indian spices widely used in Ayurveda: cumin (Cuminum cyminum (L.), Apiaceae), black cumin (Nigella sativa (L.), Ranunculaceae), black pepper (Piper nigrum (L.), Piperaceae), curry leaf tree (Murraya koenigii (L.), Spreng Rutaceae), fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum (L.), Fabaceae), fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill, Apiaceae), cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum (L.) Maton, Zingiberaceae), cloves (Syzygium aromaticum (L.) Merr. & L.M.Perry, Myrtaceae), and coriander (Coriandrum sativum (L.), Apiaceae) in age-related neurological disorders.

Keywords: Indian spices; aging; complementary medicine; herbal extracts; neurological disorder.

FIGURE 1

Potential of common Indian spices in ameliorating neurodegenerative diseases.

FIGURE 3

Fenugreek: The compound reduces the risk of various diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and Parkinson’s disease. Fenugreek protects against Parkinson’s disease by reducing ROS production, increasing dopaminergic function in neurons, and providing antioxidant properties with no anticholinergic side effects. Fennel: It reduces the risk of many diseases, including Alzheimer’s, dementia, and multiple sclerosis(MS). Fennel confers protection against MS by decreasing NF-Kβ and inflammation processes and having estrogenic activity. Curry leaf: Different features of this compound include antitumor and immunomodulatory properties. Curry leaf decrease NO, iNOS, iCAM, c-MYC, and NF-Kβ levels and inflammation-related cytokines, which reduce brain injury risks.

FIGURE 4

Black pepper: this compound reduces the risk of various diseases, such as Huntington’s, Parkinson’s, epilepsy, stroke, brain tumor, CVD, dementia, memory loss, and Alzheimer’s disease. Black pepper protects against Huntington’s by reducing neural degeneration and MAO activity and increasing neurobehavioral performance. Additionally, black pepper leads to neuroprotection against 3-NP. Black pepper prevents epilepsy by reducing synaptic synchronization, Ca2+ overload, and presynaptic glutamate release and increasing integrity of mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum. It also prevents brain tumor by increasing ROS production and pro-apoptosis pathways and increasing susceptibility to radiotherapy.By reducing tissue damage, memory impairment, and preserving neural tissue from oxidative damage black pepper protects against memory loss. Black cumin: This compound reduces the risk of various diseases, such as Parkinson’s, memory loss, traumatic brain injury, stroke, and multiple sclerosis.It prevents memory loss by reducing oxidative stress, GABA, glycine, and acetylcholinesterase and increasing aspartate and glutamate. Also, black cumin is a neuroprotective agent. Black cumin prevents stroke by reducing NO and MDA level, iNOS expression, and lipid peroxidation and increasing antioxidant enzymes. The black cumin protects against multiple sclerosis by increasing remyelination and GSH and reducing NF-Kβ, ROS, NO, MDA, and TGF-β1.

FIGURE 2

Alzheimer’s disease (AD), as a neurodegenerative disease, is the most common form of dementia. Common Indian spices such as cardamom, black pepper, fenugreek, fennel, coriander, and cumin all have neuroprotective effects in AD through inhibition of amyloid (Aβ) plaques formation, inflammation, and NF-κB pathway, MAO formation, H2O2 and ROS formation, and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity. These components can also induce NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptor function, glutathione peroxidase (GPX) activity, and Nrf2 and BDNF transcription.