NATURAL COMPOUNDS FOR MENTAL WELLNESS: A FOCUS ON NEUROPROTECTIVE AND ADAPTOGENIC EFFECTS
Krishna Kumar Bharti, Alina Ahmed, Arindam Sinha
Faculty of Pharmaceutical Science, Assam Down Town University,
Sankar Madhab Path, Gandhi Nagar, Panikhaiti, Guwahati – 781026, Assam, India
Abstract: The article discusses the treatment potential of natural plant substances in helping to maintain mental health. As it emphasizes on the aspects of neuroprotective and adaptogenic effects, it points to specific bioactives effects on neurotransmitter systems, the regulation of stress responses, and the potential role in the treatment of mood, anxiety, cognitive decline, and neurodegeneration. Adaptogens such as Withania somnifera (ashwagandha), Rhodiola rosea, and Panax ginseng modulate hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, rectify of cortisol, and augment the ability of cells, showing clinically substantial improvements of anxiety (down to 88 percent), fatigue (31 percent), and mental impairment (10-38 percent). Neuroprotectives, including bacosides (Bacopa monnieri), curcumin, and ginsenosides, reduce oxidative damage and neuroinflammation and enhance synaptic dysfunction, memory recall (46 percent), attention (28 percent), and prevent neurodegeneration (34 percent in cases of Alzheimer disease progression). Such compounds offer superior multi-target mechanisms over the traditional monoaminergic pharmaceuticals, also in terms of safety. Clinical integration, however, is faced with constraints: imprecision in bioactive content (examples include concentration range of 1.5-10 percent bacoside), loose regulatory requirements, and interaction of drug and herbs (Otherwise known as drug-herb interaction e.g., St. Johns wort-CYP 3A4 induction). The future of advancements will depend on how these are guided by omics research (e.g., use of metabolomics to identify the BBB-penetrating bacosides in blood), individualized treatments following genetic/microbiome testing (e.g., BDNF Met/Met genotype), and co-administered with low-dose medications (e.g. saffron augmenting SSRI remission 50%). Active preventive models, well-designed trials, and standardization promoted by the WHO are decisive to the use of natural compounds as scalable, evidence-based strategy to tackle the mental health crisis the world is facing.
Keywords: Mental well-being, Neuroprotection, Adaptogenic, Natural compounds, Cognitive health, Plant bioactive, Stress modulation