Piperlongumine, an active constituent of the Indian spices pippali and ganthoda, increases autophagy in cell and mouse models of PD

[Rhyothemis]

Piper longumen's dried flower spike is an Indian spice called pippali and the dried root is called ganthoda. The taste of pippali is peppery and the fragrance is of rose and citrus and perhaps a bit musky. I have no idea how much one would have to eat to induce types of activities reported in this article. I've been using fresh ground pippali in my tea and on food since I saw it reported as being a possible senolytic agent (see link at bottom of post) a while back; maybe it is doing a little something - but mostly I just like the taste.

Piperlongumine restores the balance of autophagy and apoptosis by increasing BCL2 phosphorylation in rotenone-induced Parkinson disease models - Liu et al.

Autophagy. 2018; 14(5): 845–861.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Parkinson disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer disease and is caused by genetics, environmental factors and aging, with few treatments currently available. Apoptosis and macroautophagy/autophagy play critical roles in PD pathogenesis; as such, modulating their balance is a potential treatment strategy. BCL2 (B cell leukemia/lymphoma 2) is a key molecule regulating this balance. Piperlongumine (PLG) is an alkaloid extracted from Piper longum L. that has antiinflammatory and anticancer effects. The present study investigated the protective effects of PLG in rotenone-induced PD cell and mouse models. We found that PLG administration (2 and 4 mg/kg) for 4 wk attenuated motor deficits in mice and prevented the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra induced by oral administration of rotenone (10 mg/kg) for 6 wk. PLG improved cell viability and enhanced mitochondrial function in primary neurons and SK-N-SH cells. These protective effects were exerted via inhibition of apoptosis and induction of autophagy through enhancement of BCL2 phosphorylation at Ser70. These results demonstrate that PLG exerts therapeutic effects in a rotenone-induced PD models by restoring the balance between apoptosis and autophagy.

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Discovery of piperlongumine as a potential novel lead for the development of senolytic agents

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

[park_bear]

Firstly, thanks for actually quoting the study instead of making me go look for it.

The trouble these kinds of studies is they measure protection from an artificially induced parkinsonism rather than recovery from actual Parkinson's. So they can only be a pointer to further investigation rather than decisive evidence. That said, nothing wrong with giving it a try if you like it is a spice