Neurodegenerative diseases affect the nervous system and can occur due to various causes. One of these is proteinopathy. In various studies, it was determined whether plant extracts could be used to treat neurodegenerative diseases. Compounds in plant extracts have antioxidant and neuroprotective properties and may be effective against protein aggregates. The effects were examined on model organisms such as mice Mus musculus, fruit fly Drosophilla melanogaster, yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and worm Caenorhabditis elegans and cell line that showed fenotype of nevrodegenerative disease. For S. cerevisiae they measured viability of cells that were exposed to extracts from prickly pear Opuntia ficus-indica and brown alga Padina pavonica. In D. melanogaster they determined whether the extracts from prickly pear, brown alga and curcumin prolonged life expectancy and whether it can affect the mobility of fruit flies. In cell line of neuroblastoma they tested whether extract from Gastrodia elata can prevent cell death that is caused by toxic aggregates. They also checked the in vitro prevention of the formation of toxic aggregates that are responsible for the occurrence of disease. They found out that some plant extracts influence the yeast viability, improve lifespan and mobility of fruit flies and prevent cell death in cell line. Also in vitro the extracts worked well, as the concentration of toxic oligomers is reduced, and the concentration of non-toxic monomers and polymers is increased. Plant extracts have good effect against neurodegenerative diseases and have the potential to treat them.
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