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Indian Herbs for the Treatment of Neurodegenerative Disease

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The Benefits of Natural Products for Neurodegenerative Diseases

Part of the book series: Advances in Neurobiology ((NEUROBIOL,volume 12))

Abstract

Ayurveda, an ancient system of medicine that is indigenous to India, is believed to be the world’s oldest comprehensive health-care system and is now one of the most recognized and widely practiced disciplines of alternative medicine in the world. Medicinal herbs have been in use for treating diseases since ancient times in India. Ayurvedic therapies with medicinal herbs and herbomineral products generally provide relief without much adverse effects even after prolonged administration. Neurodegenerative disorders are a major cause of mortality and disability, and increasing life spans represent one of the key challenges of medical research. Ayurvedic medicine describes most neurodegenerative diseases and has defined a number of plants with therapeutic benefits for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases having antioxidant activities. In this chapter, the role of four important Ayurvedic medicinal plants, viz., Withania somnifera (ashwagandha), Bacopa monnieri (brahmi), Centella asiatica (gotu kola), and Mucuna pruriens (velvet bean), on neurodegenerative diseases are discussed.

An erratum to this chapter can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28383-8_24

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA

    Padmanabhan Mannangatti & Kamalakkannan Narasimha Naidu

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  1. Padmanabhan Mannangatti
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  2. Kamalakkannan Narasimha Naidu
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Correspondence to Padmanabhan Mannangatti .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Food Science and Nutrition College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman

    M. Mohamed Essa

  2. National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse, Rockville, Maryland, USA

    Mohammed Akbar

  3. Australian School of Advanced Medicine, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

    Gilles Guillemin

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Mannangatti, P., Naidu, K.N. (2016). Indian Herbs for the Treatment of Neurodegenerative Disease. In: Essa, M., Akbar, M., Guillemin, G. (eds) The Benefits of Natural Products for Neurodegenerative Diseases. Advances in Neurobiology, vol 12. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28383-8_17

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