Herbal extracts and phytochemicals: plant secondary metabolites and the enhancement of human brain function

Kennedy, David and Wightman, Emma (2011) Herbal extracts and phytochemicals: plant secondary metabolites and the enhancement of human brain function. Advances in Nutrition, 2. pp. 32-50. ISSN 2156-5376

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Abstract

Humans consume a wide range of foods, drugs, and dietary supplements that are derived from plants and which modify the functioning of the central nervous sytem (CNS). The psychoactive properties of these substances are attributable to the presence of plant secondary metabolites,
chemicals that are not required for the immediate survival of the plant but which are synthesized to increase the fitness of the plant to survive by allowing it to interact with its environment, including pathogens and herbivorous and symbiotic insects. In many cases, the effects of these
phytochemicals on the human CNS might be linked either to their ecological roles in the life of the plant or to molecular and biochemical similarities in the biology of plants and higher animals. This review assesses the current evidence for the efficacy of a range of readily available plant-based extracts and chemicals that may improve brain function and which have attracted sufficient research in this regard to reach a conclusion as to their potential effectiveness as nootropics. Many of these candidate phytochemicals/extracts can be grouped by the chemical nature of their potentially active secondary metabolite constituents into alkaloids (caffeine, nicotine), terpenes (ginkgo, ginseng, valerian, Melissa officinalis, sage), and phenolic compounds (curcumin, resveratrol, epigallocatechin-3-gallate, Hypericum perforatum, soy isoflavones). They are
discussed in terms of how an increased understanding of the relationship between their ecological roles and CNS effects might further the field of natural, phytochemical drug discovery.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	B400 Nutrition C800 Psychology
Department:	Faculties > Health and Life Sciences > Psychology
Related URLs:	http://advances.nutrition.org/content/2/...
Depositing User:	Emma Wightman
Date Deposited:	21 Sep 2012 09:43
Last Modified:	12 Oct 2019 16:29
URI:	http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/9036

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