Pharmacological properties of rutin and its potential uses for Alzheimer???s disease

Rutin, a flavonoid with a wide range of biological activities, has a long history of use in nutritional supplements owing to its action against oxidative stress, inflammation, and hyperglycemia. Because of its pharmacological properties such as antioxidant, antiapoptosis, antiinflammation, rutin is proposed to treat Alzheimer’s disease (AD). AD is a complex, multi-factorial neurodegenerative disease, and is characterized by neuronal atrophy of brain tissue. One of the pathological hallmarks of AD is the aggregation of soluble β amyloid (Aβ) into fibrillary deposits. Aβ aggregation induces neurotoxicity, oxidative stress and neuro-inflammation. In this review, we discussed the preclinical evidence on the antioxidant, antiapoptosis and anti-inflammatory proprieties of rutin, and the application of rutin in AD preclinical models. Rutin, delivered via oral and intraperitoneal routes, has been shown to functionally modify the cognitive and behavioural symptoms of AD in vivo due to its ability to cross the blood-brain barrier and act as both an antioxidant and an anti-inflammatory agent in the brain. Rutin attenuates oxidative stress, decreases the production of nitric oxide (NO) and proinflammatory cytokine and inhibits Aβ aggregation and cytotoxicity. Further studies to improve its bioavailability and investigations into its protective activities in AD would provide a concrete foundation for the use of rutin in clinical trials.