Neuroprotective compounds from three common medicinal plants of West Bengal, India: a mini review

Abstract

Neural disorders refer to conditions of the nervous system due to infection or degeneration of the neurons leading to either neurodegenerative disorder or neuropsychiatric disorder. Some such disorders of the nervous system include Parkinsons’s disease, depression, amnesia, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, cerebrovascular impairment, epilepsy, seizure disorders, etc. In conventional medical system, some medicines belonging to the class of psychodelic drugs, sedatives, neurotransmitters, neuro-stimulants, etc. are in extensive use. Unfortunately, most of these drugs either delay the progression of the neural disorder or leave the patient with prominent adverse side effects. Several potent bioactive compounds with neuroprotective potential have been reported from medicinal plants and some of them have been found to be highly effective. Belonging from natural sources, mostly, the plant derived compounds exhibit minimum or no cytotoxicity at a prescribed standardised dose against a particular health ailment. Many such phytocompounds from plant sources with potent neuroprotective activities have been in use in Ayurvedacharya, Unani, and Chinese medicine for ages. The compounds if isolated chemically, modified to make more potent neuroprotective derivatives and utilised to make highly effective neuroprotective pharmaceutical formulations with minimum side effects, may open new revolutionary doorways in neuropharmacology. In this review, it has been briefly discussed about the neuroprotective compounds isolated from certain indigenous plants of West Bengal, India, and their mechanism of action.