Allergy and nutraceuticals
Allergy is a hypersensitivity disorder of the immune system. An allergic reaction usually occurs when a person’s immune system reacts to normally harmless substances. Allergic reactions are distinctive because of excessive activation of certain white blood cells called mast cells and basophils by a type of antibody called immunoglobulin E. This reaction results in an inflammatory response which can range from uncomfortable to dangerous.
Quercetin protects low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C) from becoming damaged, especially to blood vessels. LDL-C is an underlying cause of heart disease and quercetin acts as an antioxidant and scavenges free radicals. Diabetic patients are at higher risk of blood vessel damage from oxidative stress. Therefore, quercetin is beneficial in these patients, too.
Alzheimer’s disease and nutraceuticals
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease and eventually leads to death. Most often, AD is diagnosed in people over 65 years of age, although the less-prevalent early-onset Alzheimer’s can occur much earlier. There were 26.6 million sufferers worldwide in 2006 and is predicted to affect 1 in 85 people globally by 2050.
Women are more affected in comparison to men, at a ratio of almost 2:1. Several lines of evidence suggest that oxidative stress might be related to a number of neurodegenerative disorders including AD. Nutraceutical antioxidants such as curcumin, lutein, lycopene, turmeric and ?-carotene may exert positive effects on specific diseases by combating oxidative stress. The growing trends in nutraceutical usage are due to the belief that these compounds are able to postpone the development of dementias such as AD. There are several recently published papers showing the positive effects of different nutraceutical plants such as Zizyphus jujube, Lavandula officinalis on AD, learning or memory.