Echinacoside, an Inestimable Natural Product in Treatment of Neurological and other Disorders

Abstract

Echinacoside (ECH), a natural phenylethanoid glycoside, was first isolated from Echinacea angustifolia DC. (Compositae) sixty years ago. It was found to possess numerous pharmacologically beneficial activities for human health, especially the neuroprotective and cardiovascular effects. Although ECH showed promising potential for treatment of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, some important issues arose. These included the identification of active metabolites as having poor bioavailability in prototype form, the definite molecular signal pathways or targets of ECH with the above effects, and limited reliable clinical trials. Thus, it remains unresolved as to whether scientific research can reasonably make use of this natural compound. A systematic summary and knowledge of future prospects are necessary to facilitate further studies for this natural product. The present review generalizes and analyzes the current knowledge on ECH, including its broad distribution, different preparation technologies, poor pharmacokinetics and kinds of therapeutic uses, and the future perspectives of its potential application.

Echinacoside reverses myocardial remodeling and improves heart function via regulating SIRT1/FOXO3a/MnSOD axis in HF rats induced by isoproterenol

“…In recent years, ECH has been extensively studied in nervous system and tumour, and it has been reported to possess a variety of pharmacological effects, such as antioxidant, anti‐inflammatory, anti‐apoptosis and anti‐tumour properties 18,19 . In nerve cells, ECH significantly enhances antioxidant capacity, reduces ROS production, improves mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and increases cell viability, 20 exhibits protective effects on mitochondrial function and inhibits mitochondrial oxidative stress, it protects against oxidative injury and improves memory, eventually prevents neurodegeneration 21,22 . ECH also increases the activity of SOD and play a protective role in brain tissue and retina tissue, 19,23 but the specific mechanism for its antioxidant effect is unclear.…”

Echinacoside alleviates hypobaric hypoxia‐induced memory impairment in C57 mice

“…A large body of evidence has demonstrated that ECH possesses highly beneficial effects in nervous and cardiovascular system disorders as well as bone disease and therefore was proposed as a promising candidate in the treatment of Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease, atherosclerosis, and osteoporosis (Liu, Yang, Dong, Zhang, & Ma, ). Also, the antioxidant property of ECH was 9.5‐fold greater than that of Trolox, indicating that it is possible to apply ECH in the future clinical trials.…”

Therapeutic potential of phenylethanoid glycosides: A systematic review

“…Alipieva et al 9 reviewed the biosynthesis and pharmacological significance of verbascoside, the most popular PhG in 2014. Liu et al 81 86 Furthermore, benzene ring plane conjugation in PhGs can be increased by the α, β-conjugated unsaturated ester structures and allow electron delocalization to inhibit free radicals. 86…”