Title:Therapeutic Effects of Thymoquinone on Alzheimer’s Disease through
Modulating Amyloid-beta Neurotoxicity and Neuro-inflammatory Cytokine
Levels
Volume: 22
Issue: 5
Author(s): Fawaz Alasmari*, Farraj M. Alotaibi, Wedad Saeed Al-Qahtani, Abdullah F. AlAsmari and Faleh Alqahtani
Affiliation:
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia
Keywords:
Alzheimer’s disease, neuroinflammation, amyloid-beta neurotoxicity, thymoquinone therapy, Nigella sativa, glutamate, acetylcholinesterase.
Abstract: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that involves several impaired
neuronal pathways. Modulating the amyloid-beta (β-amyloid) system is being tested to treat AD.
Amyloid-beta neurotoxicity is associated with neuroinflammation and plaque formation, further progressing
to AD. Protecting neurons from β-amyloid neurotoxicity could be an efficient strategy for the
treatment of AD. Thymoquinone (TQ) is an active ingredient in Nigella sativa (NS) and has shown
effective therapeutic properties in AD models. TQ was able to attenuate the behavioral dysfunctions in
AD models. Moreover, TQ could attenuate the neuroinflammation properties in animals with AD. In
addition, studies have shown that TQ could modulate β -amyloid neurotoxicity, an effect associated
with improved AD behavioral symptoms. In this review, we highlighted the therapeutic effects of TQ
on the progression of AD through modulating β-amyloid neurotoxicity and neuro-inflammatory cytokine
levels. Other phenolic compounds also present in NS improved behavioral and neuronal impairments
in AD models, supporting TQ’s anti-Alzhiemer’s efficacy.