Andrographolide and its Neuroprotective Potential in Ameliorating Parkinson’s Disease

Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s and Prion-related diseases are age-related progressive disorders. Among neurodegenerative diseases, Parkinson’s disease is the second most common disease after Alzheimer’s. Every year, millions of people were affected by Parkinson’s disease. The formation of α-synuclein protein aggregation associated with degeneration of dopaminergic neurons is the main pathological hallmark of PD. Patients suffering from this disease live in an impairing condition and impose huge financial as well as psychological burdens on society. However, there is no definite treatment till now that can be used to treat Parkinson’s disease patients. The current treatment approaches only provide symptomatic relief but can not reverse the disease condition. Hence, there is a need to identify novel, definitive and minimal toxicity-exhibiting treatments for PD. Natural products, specifically medicinal plants, due to their never-matched chemical diversity, always act as a better source for drug discovery. Here, in this chapter, we have selected andrographolide, a plant-derived secondary metabolite of labdane triterpenoid extracted from Andrographis paniculate, a traditional herb. Andrographolide shows its neuroprotective potential in PD via exhibiting multiple mechanisms like decreasing neuroinflammation induced by microglial activation. Activating HSF1 and NRF2-mediated autophagy mechanisms in clearing α-synuclein protein aggregation and regenerating the degenerated dopaminergic neurons, ameliorate the PD symptoms. In this possible way, andrographolide provides a better chance to develop a novel therapeutic tool for treating Parkinson’s disease in the near future.

Keywords: Andrographolide, Anti-inflammatory and HSF1 activator, Degeneration of dopaminergic neurons, Parkinson’s disease, Neuroinflammation, α-synuclein protein aggregation.