Hurmat K, Richa Shri
Neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, dementia, Epilepsy, Genetic Brain Disorders, Head and Brain Malformations, Hydrocephalus, Stroke etc. cause progressive loss of neurons and thus, are associated with high mortality and morbidity. Clinically available therapies for the management of such disorders are limited by numerous side effects. Thus, there is a need to explore the safer drugs which may be beneficial to treat brain disorders. Plants are considered safe and have always been a potential source of drug discovery. The present review summarizes the neuroprotective ability commonly used species of Allium genus. i.e. Allium cepa and Allium sativum. Scientific information was collected by visiting various online databases such as Google scholar, Pubmed, Science direct, Scifinder etc. Allium cepa and Allium sativum are consumed as vegetables, in the form of juice and salads worldwide. Scientific reports from our laboratory have shown the beneficial effects of both Allium species against neuropathic pain, diabetic neuropathy, ischemic stroke, convulsions, depression and Alzheimer's disease. Both the species are documented to be a rich source of sulphur compounds along with appreciable amounts of flavonoids, phenols and volatile oils. The reported neuroprotective effects of selected Allium species were attributed to the presence of phenols, flavonoids and sulphur compounds. The neuroprotective and antioxidant effect of Allium species owing to the presence of the alanyl group and the absence of the oxo group in organosulfur compounds was effective in protecting cell death induced by both oxygen glucose deprivation and cerebral ischemia and effective in inhibition of oxidative stress caused by increased accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cells has been implicated in several neurodegenerative diseases. The present review emphasizes that, Allium species such as Allium cepa and Allium sativum could be a source for drug discovery of neuroprotective drugs.
