Therapeutic potential of natural products against Alzheimer's disease via autophagic removal of Aβ

The pathological features of Alzheimer's disease (AD), a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, include the deposition of extracellular amyloid beta (A beta) plaques and intracellular tau neurofibrillary tangles. A decline in cognitive ability is related to the accumulation of A beta in patients with AD. Autophagy, which is a primary intracellular mechanism for degrading aggregated proteins and damaged organelles, plays a crucial role in AD. In this review, we summarize the most recent research progress regarding the process of autophagy and the effect of autophagy on A beta. We further discuss some typical monomers of natural products that contribute to the clearance of A beta by autophagy, which can alleviate AD. This provides a new perspective for the application of autophagy modulation in natural product therapy for AD.