Therapeutic potential of Zingiberaceae in Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia and is highly prevalent in old age. Unlike current drugs, medicinal plants can have preventive and protective effects with less side effects. Given the great number of bioactive substances, plants from the Zingiberaceae Family have medicinal potential and currently are widely studied regarding its anti-Alzheimer's disease effects. The objective of this study was to provide an overview of advances in phytochemical composition studies, in vitro and in vivo pharmacological studies, and toxicological effects of the Zingiberaceae Family on Alzheimer's disease. Information was obtained from relevant papers in electronic databases. Most of the studies of Zingiberaceae effects on Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis theory are related to cholinergic, beta amyloid cascade, tau, inflammation, and oxidative stress hypothesis. Also, in vitro and in vivo preclinical studies on the effect of Alpinia, Curcuma, and Zingiber genera have been reported as harmless and safe, with potential for anti-Alzheimer treatment.