In silico-determined compound from the root of Pueraria lobate alleviates synaptic plasticity injury induced by Alzheimer's disease via the p38MAPK-CREB signaling pathway

Investigating the Potential Therapeutic Mechanisms of Puerarin in Neurological Diseases

Plants and their derived phytochemicals have a long history of treating a wide range of illnesses for several decades. They are believed to be the origin of a diverse array of medicinal compounds. One of the compounds found in kudzu root is puerarin, a isoflavone glycoside commonly used as an alternative medicine to treat various diseases. From a biological perspective, puerarin can be described as a white needle crystal with the chemical name of 7-hydroxy-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-1-benzopyran-4-one-8-D-glucopyranoside. Besides, puerarin is sparingly soluble in water and produces no color or light yellow solution. Multiple experimental and clinical studies have confirmed the significant therapeutic effects of puerarin. These effects span a wide range of pharmacological effects, including neuroprotection, hepatoprotection, cardioprotection, immunomodulation, anticancer properties, anti-diabetic properties, anti-osteoporosis properties, and more. Puerarin achieves these effects by interacting with various cellular and molecular pathways, such as MAPK, AMPK, NF-κB, mTOR, β-catenin, and PKB/Akt, as well as different receptors, enzymes, and growth factors. The current review highlights the molecular mechanism of puerarin as a neuroprotective agent in the treatment of various neurodegenerative and neurological diseases. Extensive cellular, animal, and clinical research has provided valuable insights into its effectiveness in conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, cerebral stroke, depression, and more.

Therapeutic potential of puerarin against cerebral diseases: From bench to bedside

The incidence of cerebral diseases is rapidly increasing worldwide, and they have become an important challenge for modern medicine. Most of the available chemical drugs used in the treatment of cerebral diseases are highly toxic and single-targeted. Therefore, novel drugs from natural resources have attracted much attention for their potential to manage cerebral diseases. Puerarin is a natural isoflavone isolated from the roots of Pueraria species such as P. lobata (Willd) Ohwi, P. thomsonii, and P. mirifica. Several authors have reported the beneficial effects of puerarin in cerebral ischemic disease, intracerebral hemorrhage, vascular dementia, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, depression, anxiety, and traumatic brain injury. This review summarizes the brain pharmacokinetics, brain drug delivery system, clinical use (in cerebral diseases), toxicity, and the adverse clinical reactions of puerarin. We have systematically presented the pharmacological actions and the molecular mechanisms of puerarin in various cerebral diseases to provide a direction for future research on the therapeutic use of puerarin in cerebral diseases.

Protective effects and mechanism of puerarin targeting PI3K/Akt signal pathway on neurological diseases

Neurological diseases impose a tremendous and increasing burden on global health, and there is currently no curative agent. Puerarin, a natural isoflavone extracted from the dried root of Pueraria montana var. Lobata (Willd.) Sanjappa and Predeep, is an active ingredient with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-apoptotic, and autophagy-regulating effects. It has great potential in the treatment of neurological and other diseases. Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinases/protein kinase B (PI3K/Akt) signal pathway is a crucial signal transduction mechanism that regulates biological processes such as cell regeneration, apoptosis, and cognitive memory in the central nervous system, and is closely related to the pathogenesis of nervous system diseases. Accumulating evidence suggests that the excellent neuroprotective effect of puerarin may be related to the regulation of the PI3K/Akt signal pathway. Here, we summarized the main biological functions and neuroprotective effects of puerarin via activating PI3K/Akt signal pathway in neurological diseases. This paper illustrates that puerarin, as a neuroprotective agent, can protect nerve cells and delay the progression of neurological diseases through the PI3K/Akt signal pathway.

Protective Effects of Flavonoids against Alzheimer's Disease: Pathological Hypothesis, Potential Targets, and Structure-Activity Relationship

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease with high morbidity and mortality, for which there is no available cure. Currently, it is generally believed that AD is a disease caused by multiple factors, such as amyloid-beta accumulation, tau protein hyperphosphorylation, oxidative stress, and inflammation. Multitarget prevention and treatment strategies for AD are recommended. Interestingly, naturally occurring dietary flavonoids, a class of polyphenols, have been reported to have multiple biological activities and anti-AD effects in several AD models owing to their antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anti-amyloidogenic properties. In this review, we summarize and discuss the existing multiple pathogenic factors of AD. Moreover, we further elaborate on the biological activities of natural flavonoids and their potential mode of action and targets in managing AD by presenting a wide range of experimental evidence. The gathered data indicate that flavonoids can be regarded as prophylactics to slow the advancement of AD or avert its onset. Different flavonoids have different activities and varying levels of activity. Further, this review summarizes the structure–activity relationship of flavonoids based on the existing literature and can provide guidance on the design and selection of flavonoids as anti-AD drugs.

Neuroprotective Mechanisms of Puerarin in Central Nervous System Diseases: Update

Due to global population aging and modern lifestyle changes, the incidence of central nervous system (CNS) disorders, such as neurodegenerative diseases, neuropsychiatric disorders, and cerebrovascular diseases, is increasing and has become a major public health challenge. Current medications commonly used in the clinic are far from satisfactory and may cause serious side effects. Therefore, the identification of novel drugs for the effective management of CNS diseases is very urgent. Puerarin, a highly bioactive ingredient isolated from Pueraria lobata, is known to possess a broad spectrum of pharmacological properties including anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, anti-antioxidant, neuroprotective, and cardioprotective features. However, its clinical application is limited due to its poor water solubility. Since puerarin has demonstrated a wide range of neuroprotective functions in various CNS diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, cerebral ischemia, depression, and spinal cord injury, it has been attracting increasingly intense attention worldwide. In this review, we intend to extensively summarize the research progress on neuroprotective mechanisms of puerarin in recent years and discuss the future directions of its application in CNS disease treatment.