Abstract:

Diet has a dynamic molecular impact on human health. The nature and quantity of dietary intake profoundly influences cellular functions, epigenetic alterations and mechanisms that control gene expression. The ready availability and low cost of food and the freedom of being able to eat anything does not mean that we should exploit eating practices to eat everything. Carbohydrates, lipids and proteins are the primary dietary fuels that yield metabolic energy providing body function and performance, whereas dietary phytochemicals and herbal medicines rich in polyphenols are associated with a decreased risk of several human chronic diseases, sustain the cellular molecular machinery, preventing the development of disorders, gain of toxic function and disease conditions. Natural products utilized in folk medicine have demonstrated safety profiles since they have already been utilized for decades for the treatment of disease in humans and animals, we use them as templates for the generation of analogues for the development of therapeutic compounds, and probing molecular mechanisms underlying cellular dysfunction. The major liabilities of herbal medicinal products are poor biocompatibility, pharmacokinetic profiles and BBB permeability. Alkaloids, terpenes, polyphenolic compounds represent the most prevalent classes of herbal constituents with anti-dementia benefit. It is unclear to what extent many of these bioactive phytochemicals, utilized in single or herbal formulae doses can reach the brain in sufficient concentrations and in a biologically active form to exert their neuroprotective effects. For AD therapy, herbal products offer a wider range of brain-targets, nutritional benefits, safer dosage, long-term applications and efficacious treatment of AD pathology. In conclusion, despite extensive knowledge about how diet and nutrition has advanced beyond understanding cellular energy status, diet related chronic diseases of modern society are now the single largest cause of death. Epidemiological investigations indicate that nutrition and dietary patterns are modifiable risk factors that can help limit and prevent chronic diseases, enabling the achievement of the overall objective in slowing human aging diseases such as AD and thereby improving the quality of health span of everyone.