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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Ethnopharmacology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1426569

Unveiling the Therapeutic Potential of Lobaria Extract and Its Depsides/Depsidones in Combatting Aβ42 Peptides Aggregation and Neurotoxicity in Alzheimer's Disease

Provisionally accepted
Meixia Yang Meixia Yang 1,2Caishan Yan Caishan Yan 3Dusadee Ospondpant Dusadee Ospondpant 1,2Lisong Wang Lisong Wang 4Shengying Lin Shengying Lin 1,2Wai L. Tang Wai L. Tang 1,2Tingxia Dong Tingxia Dong 1,2Penger Tong Penger Tong 3Qin Xu Qin Xu 3Karl Tsim Karl Tsim 1,2*
  • 1 Life Science and Center for Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong, SAR China
  • 2 Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Edible and Medicinal Bioresources, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China
  • 3 Department of Physics, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China
  • 4 Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Kunming, Yunnan, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The development of effective inhibitors that can inhibit amyloid β (Aβ) peptides aggregation and promote neurite outgrowth is crucial for the possible treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study, we conducted systematic approaches with biophysical and cellular methods to investigate the potential effect of water and ethanol extracts deriving from Lobaria, as well as its main depsidones and depsides (DEPs) on the aggregation and disaggregation of Aβ42, Aβ42-mediated cell toxicity, and neuronal differentiation in cultured PC12 cells. It was found that Lobaria extracts, and its DEPs inhibited effectively Aβ42 fibrillation and disaggregate mature Aβ42 fibrils. Notably, the ethanol extract of Lobaria demonstrated superior dual inhibitory effects, as compared to the water extract. Among the three DEPs tested, gyrophoric acid was found to be the most effective phytochemical. Additionally, the herbal extract-treated Aβ42 aggregation species significantly protected neuronal cells from Aβ42-induced damage and effectively promoted neurite outgrowth. Given that Lobaria is commonly used in ethnic medicine and food with good safety records, our results propose that Lobaria extracts, and its DEPs, could have great potential in developing as neuroprotective and therapeutic agents for AD patients.

    Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, Aβ peptides, Lobaria extracts, depsides/depsidones, inhibition, Disaggregation, Neurite outgrowth

    Received: 01 May 2024; Accepted: 29 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Yang, Yan, Ospondpant, Wang, Lin, Tang, Dong, Tong, Xu and Tsim. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Karl Tsim, Life Science and Center for Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong, SAR China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.