Bioactive Compounds of Algae: Potential Neuroprotective Agents in Neurodegenerative Disorders

Neurodegenerative diseases are diverse in nature and are characterized by the continuous loss of neurons, glial cells, and neural networks in the brain and spinal cord, as well as selective malfunctioning of these tissues. Dementia pathologies such as Alzheimer’s disease are reaching epidemic proportions, yet they are not successfully managed by effective symptomatic treatments. Even with a high prevalence, neurogenerative diseases are treated with drugs that alleviate the symptoms of patients, but which develop adverse events and still do not inhibit the progression of the disease. Only five drugs have been developed to alleviate cognitive symptoms and behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia. As two of these licensed drugs, cholinesterase inhibitors are natural derived galantamine and rivastigmine, the potential for plants to yield new therapeutic agents has stimulated extensive research to discover new cholinesterase inhibitors together with plant extracts, phytochemicals and their derivatives with other mechanistic effects relevant to dementia treatment. Consequently, algae pave way for exploring potential compounds with therapeutic uses. In the search of neuroprotective natural product, algae have been recognised as an alternative to explore advanced bioactive natural materials because algae contain a wide range of bioactive compounds. Thus, within a new pharmacological perspective, this chapter aimed to discuss the therapeutic potential of natural compounds of algae against neurogenerative diseases.