Neuroprotective Effect for Cerebral Ischemia by Natural Products: A Review

Abstract

Natural products have a significant role in the prevention of disease and boosting of health in humans and animals. Stroke is a disease with high prevalence and incidence, the pathogenesis is a complex cascade reaction. In recent years, it’s reported that a vast number of natural products have demonstrated beneficial effects on stroke worldwide. Natural products have been discovered to modulate activities with multiple targets and signaling pathways to exert neuroprotection via direct or indirect effects on enzymes, such as kinases, regulatory receptors, and proteins. This review provides a comprehensive summary of the established pharmacological effects and multiple target mechanisms of natural products for cerebral ischemic injury in vitro and in vivo preclinical models, and their potential neuro-therapeutic applications. In addition, the biological activity of natural products is closely related to their structure, and the structure-activity relationship of most natural products in neuroprotection is lacking, which should be further explored in future. Overall, we stress on natural products for their role in neuroprotection, and this wide band of pharmacological or biological activities has made them suitable candidates for the treatment of stroke.

Neuroprotective Treatments for Ischemic Stroke: Opportunities for Nanotechnology

“…Natural products exert neuroprotective effects through various signaling pathways and target molecules (Table 2). [47] Flavonoids, widely found in vegetables, fruits, and traditional herbs, are natural active substances. Calycosin, a flavonoid extracted from Astragalus mongholicus, exerts neuroprotective effects by inhibiting apoptosis, inflammation, and autophagy in the ischemia/reperfusion (I/R)-injured brain.…”

“…Natural products exert neuroprotective effects through various signaling pathways and target molecules ( Table 2 ). [ 47 ]…”

Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Natural Products on Cerebral Ischemia

“…Structure activity relationship (SAR) has been demonstrated as a useful tool for investigating the bioactivities of various classes of compounds ( Li X. et al, 2017 ). The SAR of biological activity is mainly related to the type (or basic parent nucleus) of compounds and the position of main functional groups ( Xie et al, 2021 ; Zhou et al, 2021 ). Flavonoids are based on 2-phenylchromone as the skeleton.…”

“…Flavonoids are based on 2-phenylchromone as the skeleton. The position of C-5 and 7 on the ring A of flavonoids that coupled with hydroxyl groups has found to affect the cell secretion process, mitosis and cell interactions with strong anti-inflammatory effects ( Xie et al, 2021 ). Forthermore, C 5 -OH, C 7 -OH, C 2 = C 3 and C 4 = O functional groups that present in the flavonoids has also been indicated to performa greater anti-inflammatory effect.…”

Natural Products in Modulating Methamphetamine-Induced Neuronal Apoptosis

“…Natural products are bioactive components from natural organisms, including plants, animals, insects, marine organisms, microorganisms ( Xie et al, 2021 ). These agents have been widely used by human societies for thousands of years ( Baker et al, 2007 ), and their bioactivities are of great interest to enormous research fields ( Ekiert and Szopa, 2020 ).…”