Abstract

Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia in adult life and is associated with the selective damage of brain regions and neural circuits critical for memory and cognition. The neurons in the neocortex, hippocampus, amygdala, and the basal forebrain cholinergic system are the most affected brain regions. The major factors leading to Alzheimer`s are 1) amyloid plaque diposition in brain. 2) Disruption in the cholinergic activity. 3) Oxidative stress in  brain 4) inflammation accompanying the disease. The continuing expansion of life expectancy, leading to a fast growing number of patients with Alzheimer’s disease, has led to an enormous increase in research focused on the discovery of drugs for primary, secondary or tertiary prevention of the disease. Despite all scientific efforts, at the moment, there are no effective pharmacotherapeutic options for prevention and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. The subject of our study in this review is Chitin that is a naturally abundant polysaccharide. In fact, chitin is a constituent of the outer structure of insects, fungi and crustaceans. Chitin is also significant because of its relationship to some components of foods of animal, and fungal origin, and its potential medical and pharmaceutical uses. Current understanding of the role of chitin like polysaccharides in the pathogenesis of amyloid deposition of Alzheimer disease is developing fast. Polysaccharides may play a broader role in light of 1) the role of amyloid in Alzheimer disease pathogenesis. 2) anticholinesterase activity. 3) oxidative stress in Alzheimer`s disease and 4) inflammation accompanying the disease. Considering the side effects of synthetic neuroprotective agents, the search for natural neuroprotective agents has received great attention. Hence, the objective of this review is to discuss neuroprotective properties of chitin and its derivatives.