THE USE OF PHYTOTHERAPEUTICS AS ADJUVANTS IN THE TREATMENT OF ALZHEIMER'S Bianca Carrai Loureiro, Julia Justino Nardis de Oliveira, José Eduardo Pandini Cardoso Filho

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a dementia with a predictive course, that is, it begins with mild symptoms that progress over time, leading to cognitive disorders, personality changes and impairment of basic daily activities. Early-onset AD, known as FAD (Familial Alzheimer's Disease), is the rarest form of the disease, representing 1% to 6% of registered cases of AD, and appears before the age of 60 due to a strong genetic component that occurs through autosomal dominant Mendelian transmission. In Brazil, approximately 1.2 million people live with some form of dementia, 100 thousand new cases are detected each year and worldwide the number reaches 50 million people. According to estimates by Alzheimer's Disease International (ADI), the numbers could reach 74.7 million in 2030 and 131.5 million in 2050, due to the aging of the population. This scenario shows that the disease is a global health crisis that must be addressed. Many researchers are seeking alternative treatments to help patients with AD. Phytotherapy is an ancient practice that uses medicinal plants and parts of them, as well as leaves, fruits, seeds, roots, oils, and extracts, to promote health and alleviate symptoms. Many publications are found on phytotherapeutics, also known as secondary metabolites. Secondary metabolites have different classes and have different functions for plant species. The main classes presented are terpenes, saponins, and flavonoids, which have extremely important functions for the treatment and interruption of the disease. The present study aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of treatment with phytotherapeutics in patients with Alzheimer's and emphasize that the use of plants as an alternative promotes an improvement in the patient's quality of life. Three plants from different families were chosen, namely Ginkgo biloba, Panax ginseng, and Curcuma longa, for evaluation in relation to the health of patients with AD.