Disclaimer: The data herein is for educational purposes only. Under no circumstance should you attempt to utilize this information without the co-operation, help and advice of a licensed health-care doctor.Introduction: Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most frequent neurodegenerative sickness. The incidence of PD is likely to expand together with the aging of the population. In addition to higher incidence in aged patients, you will find there is population of patients who develop PD considerably younger in life. The so-called early onset Parkinson's Disease. The actual root pathology of PD is reduction in the dopamine generating cells in that an area of the basal ganglia of the brain termed the substantia nigra (black substance). The reason dopamine producing cells die off is not really wholly understood. Various theories have been put forth, even so, none of them has been definitively established. Although loss of dopamine input to various brain regions is the cardinal pathophysiologic finding in PD, this shortage of dopamine stimulation is believed to produce a dys-regulation in many different non-dopaminergic pathways. A number of these secondary pathways provide possible targets for therapy. These secondary pathways may also potentially reduce some of the adverse reactions (some of which are similar to the symptoms of Parkinson's Disease itself) of standard pharmaceutical medications used to treat the disease.Signs and Symptoms: Parkinson's Disease is viewed as a movement disorder. Therefore the signs and symptoms of the disease are primarily motor in nature. The characteristic clinical findings are dyskinesias. As well as, bradykinesia, tremor and a phenomenon called freezing. Freezing takes place with simultaneous contraction of agonist and antagonist muscle groups; that inhibit motion in a joint. There is growing awareness of so-called non-motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease. Examples include cognitive decline, sleep trouble (both daytime somnolence and evening insomnia) and mood and behavioral changes. These non-motor symptoms are likely linked to changes in the non-dopaminergic pathways that manifest following the dopamine reduction which occurs with progressive loss of the cells of the substantia nigra.Anatomical Pathways: The biological pathways associated with PD are elaborate. The latest model of the condition comprises a pair of parallel neuroanatomical circuits. They include the direct and indirect pathways. The direct pathway is involved with motor planning and execution. The circuitry of the direct pathway is complex, nevertheless the ultimate functional output is believed to be facilitation of motor output and movement. The Indirect Pathway is a parallel indirect pathway and is also elaborate. The indirect pathway's final functional output is inhibitory. As a consequence the direct and indirect pathways serve to balance the final output of motor activity. In Parkinson's disease the loss of dopamine appears to produce an imbalance between the direct and indirect pathways with inhibition of motor output predominant. This manifests itself clinically as bradykinesia or slow (inhibited) motion. As a result of this knowledge, therapy for PD is geared towards restoring output from the direct pathway to allow for activity and or to suppress activity in the indirect pathway (inhibit the inhibitor).Neuro-chemistry: The particular structural schematics of the basal ganglia, direct and indirect pathways are intricate and the neurotransmitters connected with these pathways adds substantially to this complexity. Decrease of dopamine and dopamine replacement therapy are the standard of medical management of PD. However the anatomical model of PD also includes inhibitory neurotransmitters, mainly GABA, also Adenosine, and the excitatory neurotransmitter Glutamate. It is rather likely that the role of various other neurotransmitters will be discovered as the details of the basal ganglia pathways are unraveled. At this time a number of medications that influence these various pathways are in various phases of clinically development for the treatment of PD. Research from this drug development provides a chance to make use of pharmacognosy as a substitute source for integrative treatment of PD.Dopamine: Dopamine certainly is the mainstay of PD therapy. Oral doses of l-dopa and related compounds provide very good symptomatic improvement in PD. Even though the emphasis of this article is to talk about the non-dopaminergic pathways as prospective adjuncts and integrative paths to support the PD disease sufferer, a secondary intention is to speak about possible natural alternatives to traditional medical care (pharmacognosy).Pharmacognosy Alternative: Hence in this case a short reference to natural remedy Mucuna Puriens might be called for. This plant-based natural medicine is said to carry l-dopa. There are a number of research projects that imply it is a useful natural therapy for PD.Adenosine: Newly released studies have implied that antagonism of the Adenosine (A2) receptor in the brain, may perhaps down regulate the indirect pathways of the basal ganglion. Studies of A-2 receptor targeted antagonist drugs are indicating clinical promise in the treatment of PD. The methylxanthines are purely natural products with antagonistic action on the adenosine receptors. They consist of caffeine, theophylline and theobromine present in coffee, tea and chocolate respectively. However the methylxanthines are non-specific adenosine receptor antagonists. So this means they inhibit several other adenosine receptor sub-types beyond just the A-2 adenosine receptor. The A-2 receptor antagonists may provide restorative modulation of the indirect pathways in PD subsequently improving bradikinesia via inhibition of this inhibitor pathway. They could at the same time improve day time somnolence since together with their suppressive influences on the indirect pathway, blockade of the A2 receptor also may increase arousal in the central nervous system. The herb, Ilex might find potential use as a useful natural medication given in daytime to help improve Parkinson's motor problems and daytime somnolence.This herb, Ilex generally seems to deliver a possible natural alternative to traditional A2 receptor blocker medications and one study has suggested it may indeed be beneficial in the relief of the symptoms of Parkinson's Disease.Glutamate: The actual function of glutamate in PD is unknown. Studies of glutamate receptor antagonists and agonist have produced contradictory results in PD patients. This might be explained by the simple fact that different receptor of the glutamate family have unique, perhaps even competing effects throughout the nervous system. So non-specific activation or inhibition of glutamate receptors may cancel out the action of one another. Much more appealing is a tactic hoping to modulate selective glutamate receptors. An individual glutamate receptor that appears to be surfacing as a fascinating potential beneficial target in PD management is the Glutamate 5 metabotrophic receptor, also known as mGlu5 for short.Even though the research results are preliminary, early assessments of mGlu5 receptor inhibitors in animal models of PD don't just suggest better symptoms, but in addition to antagonism of this glutamate receptor, might just improve the disease process itself. If these initial reports hold true in forthcoming studies, glutamate receptor antagonism stands out as the very first treatment offered to PD patients that may change the basic pathology of the disorder in addition to ameliorating its signs and symptoms.Down regulation of the glutaminergic pathways inside brain may possibly also produce beneficial influences on the mood disorders, anxiety, insomnia along with other connected non-motor symptoms seen in PD patients.Pharmacognosy Alternatives: Magnolol a major component of the natural medication Magnolia Bark was recently demonstrated to specifically antagonize the mGLu5 receptor. Theanine is a glutamate receptor antagonist and works as a glutamate analog. It is not apparent if Theanine behaves selectively on Glutamate receptors or if its results are non-specific.Taken together, the field of pharmacognosy offers some promising and potentially exciting alternative treatments for patients suffering from Parkinson's Disease.