Autophagy is an essential cellular process that involves the transport of cytoplasmic content in double-membraned vesicles to lysosomes for degradation. Neurons do not undergo cytokinesis, and thus, the cell division process cannot reduce levels of unnecessary proteins. The primary cause of neurodegenerative disorders (NDs) is the abnormal deposition of proteins inside neuronal cells, and this could be averted by autophagic degradation. Thus, autophagy is an important consideration when considering means of developing treatments for NDs. Various pharmacological studies have reported that the active components in herbal medicines exhibit therapeutic benefits in NDs, for example, by inhibiting cholinesterase activity and modulating amyloid beta levels, and α-synuclein metabolism. A variety of bioactive constituents from medicinal plants are viewed as promising autophagy controllers and are revealed to recover the NDs by targeting the autophagic pathway. In the present review, we discuss the role of autophagy in the therapeutic management of several NDs. The molecular process responsible for autophagy and its importance in various NDs and the beneficial effects of medicinal plants in NDs by targeting autophagy are also discussed.

中文翻译：

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通过靶向自噬治疗多神经退行性疾病的天然产物。

自噬是一种重要的细胞过程，涉及将双膜囊泡中的细胞质内容物转运至溶酶体进行降解。神经元不经历胞质分裂，因此，细胞分裂过程不能降低不必要蛋白质的水平。神经退行性疾病 (NDs) 的主要原因是神经元细胞内蛋白质的异常沉积，这可以通过自噬降解来避免。因此，在考虑开发 ND 治疗方法时，自噬是一个重要的考虑因素。各种药理学研究报告称，草药中的活性成分在 ND 中表现出治疗益处，例如，通过抑制胆碱酯酶活性和调节淀粉样蛋白 β 水平和 α-突触核蛋白代谢。来自药用植物的多种生物活性成分被认为是有前途的自噬控制器，并被揭示通过靶向自噬途径来恢复 ND。在本综述中，我们讨论了自噬在几种 ND 治疗管理中的作用。还讨论了导致自噬的分子过程及其在各种 NDs 中的重要性，以及药用植物通过靶向自噬对 NDs 的有益作用。