Flavonoids are naturally occurring
phytochemicals found in a variety of fruits and vegetables and offer color, flavor, aroma, nutritional and health benefits.
Flavonoids have been found to play a neuroprotective role by inhibiting and/or modifying the self-assembly of the
amyloid-β (Aβ)
peptide into oligomers and fibrils, which are linked to the pathogenesis of
Alzheimer's disease. The neuroprotective efficacy of
flavonoids has been found to strongly depend on their structure and functional groups.
Flavonoids may exist in monomeric, as well as di-, tri-, tetra- or polymeric form through C-C or C-O-C linkages. It has been shown that
flavonoids containing two or more units, e.g.,
biflavonoids, exert greater
biological activity than their respective monoflavonoids. For instance,
biflavonoids have the ability to distinctly alter Aβ aggregation and more effectively reduce the toxicity of Aβ oligomers compared to the monoflavonoid moieties. Although the molecular mechanisms remain to be elucidated,
flavonoids have been shown to alter the Aβ aggregation pathway to yield non-toxic, unstructured Aβ aggregates, as well as directly exerting a
neuroprotective effect to cells. In this chapter, we review
biflavonoid-mediated Aβ aggregation and toxicity, and highlight the beneficial roles
biflavonoids can potentially play in the prevention and treatment of
Alzheimer's disease.