Phytochemical composition and anti-Alzheimer potential of medicinal plants from Central and West Africa: Systematic review.

In recent time, the use of medicinal plants in the management of human disease conditions has gained immense attention. The aim of the present review was to explore the phytochemical composition and anti-Alzheimer potential of medicinal plants from Central and West Africa. A structured systematic approach was used to conduct the present systematic review of articles. Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science were searched using the following search terms combined by Boolean operators: ("Alzheimer's disease" OR "Neurodegenerative disease" OR "Nervous system diseases") AND ("Extract" OR "herbs" OR "Plant") AND ("West Africa" OR "Central Africa" OR "Africa") on the 6th of July 2024 without any filters. Following the conclusion of the title, abstract, and full text screening, only 13 articles were included. Most of the included studies (10/13, 77 %) were conducted between 2014 and 2024. Geographically, 9 (69 %) studies were conducted in Nigeria. Plants identified in the present study include: Solanum macrocarpon, Solanum nigru, Pteleopsis suberosa, Macrosphyra longistyl, Beta vulgaris, Persea americana, Syzygium aromaticum, Citrullus lanatus, Cucumeropsis mannii, Lagenaria siceraria, Achyranthes aspera Linn., Tithonia diversifolia. These plants were found to contain Luteolin, Catechin, Decanoic acid methyl ester, 11,14-Eicosadienoic acid methyl ester, Caffeic acid, Syringic acid, Azelaic acid. The plant-derived phytochemicals were reported to modulate critical Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathways, notably oxidative stress, acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition, and neuroinflammation. In conclusion, Central and West African medicinal plants represent a rich reservoir of multifunctional neuroprotective metabolites capable of targeting diverse AD pathways.