Hossein Haghaei
1 
, Somaieh Soltani
2 , Seyedrafie Aref Hosseini
1* , Mohammad Reza Rashidi
2,3* , Saeed Karima
4 1 Nutrition and food Sciences Faculty, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
2 Drug Applied Research Center and Pharmacy Faculty, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
3 Research Center for Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology and Pharmacy Faculty, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
4 Department of Clinical Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (SBMU), Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
Biological activity of Boswellia extract (BE) has been attributed to its main active ingredients; i.e. Boswellic acids (BAs). BE/BAs possess a promising therapeutic potential in neurodegenerative disorders; including Alzheimer's disease (AD). The multifactorial nature of AD pathophysiology necessitates the development of the disease-modifying agents (DMA). Recent multi-targeting approaches for the DMAs development have brought more attention to the plant-derived compounds regarding their better human compatibility because of their biologic origin. This review addresses the current knowledge on the anti-AD activity of BE/BAs based on the available in silico, in vitro, in vivo studies and clinical trials. The contribution of BE/BAs in inflammatory pathways, Tau and β-amyloid proteins, microtubule functions, oxidative stress, cholinesterase and diabetes/insulin pathways involved in AD have been discussed. BAs efficacy in different AD-related pathways has been confirmed in vitro and in vivo. They can be considered as valuable scaffold/lead compounds for multi-targeted DMAs in anti-AD drug discovery and development.