Abstract

Autism as a neurodevelopmental disorder is characterized by persistent autistic features such as impaired social communication, restricted and repetitive behavior, and intellectual disabilities. As a disorder, autism has several ubiquitous co-morbidities, among which is sleep disorders, epilepsy, attention deficit, and hyperactivity. No effective treatment for the core symptoms of autism is available until now. There is increasing interest in natural products, especially pharmaceutical plants as mono-therapy for the treatment of the core symptoms and co-morbidities of autism. In this review we discuss the safety and effectiveness of Lepidium sativum seeds as treatment strategy for the early intervention in autism. Up to our understanding of the etiological mechanisms of autism such as oxidative stress, impaired gut microbiota, abnormal lipid metabolism, neuroinflammation, and glutamate excitotoxicity and based on the biomarkers repeatedly recorded to confirm the contribution of these pathways in autism, L. sativum can be suggested as monotherapy. Being an excellent source of non-starch carbohydrates, omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and their precursors, flavonoids, and vitamin E, L. sativum can be suggested as complex supplement to ameliorate the symptoms of autism. Although it is very interesting to find the effectiveness of this plant in treating autism however, convincing pre-clinical data showing efficacy and safety in treating autism is mandatory.

Keywords: Autism; Biomarkers; Lepidium sativum; Oxidative stress; Gut microbiota; Neuroinflammation; Glutamate excitotoxicity