Zebrafish: A Model Deciphering the Impact of Flavonoids on Neurodegenerative Disorders
Kamel Mhalhel,
Mirea Sicari,
Lidia Pansera,
Jincan Chen,
Maria Levanti,
Nicolas Diotel,
Sepand Rastegar,
Antonino Germanà,
Giuseppe Montalbano
Affiliations
Kamel Mhalhel
Zebrafish Neuromorphology Lab., Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, Via Giovanni Palatucci snc, 98168 Messina, Italy
Mirea Sicari
Zebrafish Neuromorphology Lab., Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, Via Giovanni Palatucci snc, 98168 Messina, Italy
Lidia Pansera
Zebrafish Neuromorphology Lab., Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, Via Giovanni Palatucci snc, 98168 Messina, Italy
Jincan Chen
Institute of Biological and Chemical Systems-Biological Information Processing (IBCS-BIP), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Campus North, Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
Maria Levanti
Zebrafish Neuromorphology Lab., Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, Via Giovanni Palatucci snc, 98168 Messina, Italy
Nicolas Diotel
Université de la Réunion, UMR 1188 Diabète Athérothrombose Thérapies Réunion Océan Indien (DéTROI), Plateforme CYROI, F-97490 Sainte-Clotilde, France
Sepand Rastegar
Institute of Biological and Chemical Systems-Biological Information Processing (IBCS-BIP), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Campus North, Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
Antonino Germanà
Zebrafish Neuromorphology Lab., Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, Via Giovanni Palatucci snc, 98168 Messina, Italy
Giuseppe Montalbano
Zebrafish Neuromorphology Lab., Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, Via Giovanni Palatucci snc, 98168 Messina, Italy
Over the past century, advances in biotechnology, biochemistry, and pharmacognosy have spotlighted flavonoids, polyphenolic secondary metabolites that have the ability to modulate many pathways involved in various biological mechanisms, including those involved in neuronal plasticity, learning, and memory. Moreover, flavonoids are known to impact the biological processes involved in developing neurodegenerative diseases, namely oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and mitochondrial dysfunction. Thus, several flavonoids could be used as adjuvants to prevent and counteract neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Zebrafish is an interesting model organism that can offer new opportunities to study the beneficial effects of flavonoids on neurodegenerative diseases. Indeed, the high genome homology of 70% to humans, the brain organization largely similar to the human brain as well as the similar neuroanatomical and neurochemical processes, and the high neurogenic activity maintained in the adult brain makes zebrafish a valuable model for the study of human neurodegenerative diseases and deciphering the impact of flavonoids on those disorders.
