Identification
of bioactive compounds from crab hemolymph to treat Alzheimer’s disease
Bakthavachalam Dhivya and Arumugam Sivakumar
Res. J. Biotech.; Vol. 21(1); 87-98;
doi: https://doi.org/10.25303/211rjbt087098; (2026)
Abstract
Natural products are now the most challenging sources to use when developing drugs
for conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease etc. They are crucial
for managing human health conditions and developing into a promising drug. Utilizing
natural resources like vegetables, spinach, seafood etc.; in our regular diet, could
be an advantage over synthesized resources. A healthy lifestyle is maintained by
many naturally occurring resources, therefore future generations will benefit from
investigating potential chemicals from these sources. In the present study, rats
are given AlCl3 orally for 30 days and behavioral evaluations were performed. Bioactive
substances from crab hemolymph were coated with liposomes and given orally and intranasally,
once the disease condition was induced. Donepezil (10 mg/mL) was used as a standard.
After being subjected to behavioral examinations, the rats were subjected to biochemical
analyses which included lipid peroxidation assays, superoxide dismutase activity,
reactive oxygen species levels and histological examinations for neuronal changes
in the tissue.
The radial arm maze test revealed several remarkable variations in rats given AlCl3.
Bioactive compounds administered orally and intranasally to rats induced with AlCl3
improved the animals' performance to some extent. Consequently, the proteins helped
to restore the rats' cognitive function and they may be a potential treatment for
Alzheimer's disease. For further research, the proteins must also be purified and
characterized.
