Citrus fruits and neurodegenration

Neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs) including Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Huntington’s disease (HD) are mainly affecting the aged population worldwide. According to the report of the World Health Organization, the morbidity due to NDDs will be second highest cause of death in 2040. PD is the second most common progressive NDD after AD that is characterized by resting tremor, rigidity, postural abnormalities, stooped posture, bradykinesia, akinesia and festinating gait. Symptomatic and effective treatment of PD in modern medicine is by the supplementation of the dopamine in the form of L-dopa. However, long term administration typically leads to motor complications, such as L-dopa induced dyskinesia. Current pharmacological therapies for the disease are inadequate. Unfortunately, other strategies such as neural transplantation and stem cell transplantation remain in experimental stage. The pathogenesis of PD is multifactorial with toxic reactions including inflammation the glutamatergic toxicity, the dysfunction of mitochondrial activity and of the ubiquitin/proteasome system, the activation of apoptosis pathways, the elevation of iron and nitric oxide, the alteration of the homeostasis of antioxidants/oxidants. Numerous cellular, animal and human studies have delineated the anti-parkinsonic effects of citrus fruits owning to their active components. Increased consumption of citrus fruits is associated with higher antioxidant status and phytochemical constituents, thus helpful against oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation and apoptosis that play an important role in the cause and progression of PD.The multifactorial etiology of PD suggests that drugs with multiple targets could have therapeutical potential for these pathologies.