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Background: Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia. Genetics, excessive exposure to environmental pollutants, as well as unhealthy lifestyle practices are often linked to the development of AD. No therapeutic approach has achieved complete success in treating AD; however, early detection and management with appropriate drugs are key to improving prognosis. Interventions: The pathogenesis of AD was extensively discussed in order to understand the reasons for the interventions suggested. The interventions reviewed include the use of different therapeutic agents and approaches, gene therapy, adherence to healthy dietary plans (Mediterranean diet, Okinawan diet and MIND diet), as well as the use of medicinal plants. The potential of nanotechnology as a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach in the design of nano-formulations of AD drugs and the use of Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles (SPIONs) as theranostic tools for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease were also discussed.

BackgroundThe most commonly occurring mechanism driving ischemic heart disease, ischemic stroke, and myocardial infarction is thrombosis. It is normally characterized by platelet activation and aggregation. Thrombolytics have been used in the treatment of several forms of thrombosis, but their adverse effects have limited their usefulness. Thus, there is a need to develop alternatives from medicinal plants known to possess antithrombotic activity such asCostus afer.ResultsThe phytochemical evaluations indicated the presence of flavonoids, alkaloids, cardiac glycosides, tannins, terpenoids, and saponins. The antithrombotic profiling showed that streptokinase had the highest percentage clot lysis, followed by ethylacetate fraction of the extract, which was higher than aspirin and other fractions of the extract.ConclusionThe present findings show thatC. aferstem extract and various fractions possess antithrombotic activities. However, further studies are needed to characterize the antithrombotic bioactive compounds present in the different fractions that are responsible for the activities.

Objectives: This present study was carried out to determine the phytochemical compositions, proximate compositions, anti-nutrients content and analgesic activities of the flavonoid fraction from the ripe fruit pulp of Eugenia uniflora. Method: The phytochemical, proximate and anti nutrient compositions of the ripe fruit pulp of Eugenia uniflora and flavonoid extraction were determined using standard methods. The analgesic effect of the flavonoid fraction was evaluated using acetic acid-induced writhing and tail immersion test in mice. A dose 50 mg/ kg body weight of the flavonoid fraction was orally administered using cannula. The activity was compared with a standard reference drug 10 mg/kg diclofenac and normal control. Results: The different phytoconstituents of the fruit pulp include the alkaloids, flavonoids, glycosides, reducing sugar, tannins, terpenoids, saponins and steroids. The proximate showed moisture (90.35%), carbohydrate (4.68%), ash (3.05%), protein (1.31%), fat (0.63%) and fiber (0.11%) contents. The anti-nutrients present included oxalate (34.08%) and cyanogenic glycoside (0.16%). The fraction and the standard drug significantly lowered (p>0.05) the total number of writhes induced by acetic acid. The percentage inhibition decreased from 0% in the normal control to 57.78% at 50 mg/kg of the fraction. The fraction significantly increased (p

Costus afer leaf extract is one of the native heritages of folklore medicine in Nigeria, used for the treatment of various disease conditions. Therefore this study was undertaken to evaluate the cardioprotective potential of the methanol extract of Costus afer leaves on CCl4- induced cardiotoxicity in albino rats. Twenty-eight (28) albino rats were divided into four main groups: normal control (normal saline only), CCl4 control (saline and CCl4), aspirin treated (1.2 mg/kg b.w aspirin and CCl4) and Costus afer extract treated (extract and CCl4) groups. Costus afer extract was administered in four doses; 100, 200, 300, and 400 mg/kg b.w. p.o for 7 days. On day 7, CCl4 (2.5 ml) cardiotoxicity was induced in animals of CCl4 control, aspirin treated and extract pre-treatment groups. The parameters studied in this respect were cardiac biomarker enzymes; Creatine Kinase (CK), Aspartate Transaminases (AST) and Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH), serum lipid profile; Triacylglycerol (TAG), Total Cholesterol (TC), Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL), High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) and artherogenic index (AR), lipid peroxidation; malondialdehyde (MDA) level and enzymatic antioxidant levels of cardiac tissue homogenate; Superoxide Dismutase (SOD), Catalase (CAT) and Glutathione Reductase (GR). CCl4 intoxication produced significant (p < 0.05) increases in cardiac biomarker enzymes, serum lipid profile (TAG, TC, and LDL) along with enhanced lipid peroxidation in heart, while significant (p < 0.05) decreases in enzymatic antioxidant activities and HDL contents were also observed when compared to normal control. Costus afer leaf extract protected against CCl< cardiotoxic effect by restoring the cardiac functions alterations, augmenting antioxidant activities, reducing lipid peroxidation and improving lipid profile levels near normal. From the results, Costus afer leaves expressed cardioprotective potential and could be helpful in the management of cardiac dysfunction.