Mechanistic comparison of current pharmacological treatments and novel phytochemicals to target amyloid peptides in Alzheimer's and neurodegenerative diseases.

The formation of β amyloid plaques is one of the pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The process of accumulation of extracellular deposits of amyloid plaques occurs by the abnormal proteolysis of amyloid precursor protein, resulting in the formation of β amyloid peptides which further aggregates and results in the formation of oligomers, protofibrils, fibrils, and plaques. The complexity in understanding the aggregation process has provided avenues for identifying potential targets against amyloid toxicity in the treatment of AD. The therapeutic approach mainly focuses on reducing the toxicity by halting the β amyloid fibril formation. Besides conventional medicine, several naturally available compounds were shown to reduce the toxicity of amyloid plaques in the current scenario. This review provides a comprehensive account on recent updates of FDA-approved and naturally available compounds against toxicity of amyloid peptides and plaques both in vitro and in vivo.