Salvianolic acid A, a polyphenolic derivative from Salvia miltiorrhiza bunge, as a multifunctional agent for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease

Abstract

The effects of Salvianolic acid A (Sal A) on the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) were investigated. Sal A significantly inhibits amyloid beta (A β) self-aggregation and disaggregates pre-formed A β fibrils, reduces metal-induced A β aggregation through chelating metal ions, and blocks the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in SH-SY5Y cells. Sal A protects cells against A β 42 -induced toxicity. Furthermore, Sal A, possibly because of the effects of decreasing toxicity effects of A β species, alleviates A β -induced paralysis in transgenic Caenorhabditis elegans. Circular dichroism (CD) experiments and Molecular dynamic (MD) simulations demonstrate that Sal A inhibits A β self-aggregation through binding to the C-terminus of A β, and therefore stabilizing the α -helical conformations. Altogether, our data show that Sal A, as the multifunctional agent, is likely to be promising therapeutics for AD. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.