A review on the hybrids of hydroxycinnamic acid as multi-target-directed ligands against Alzheimer's disease

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Xiao Zhang1, Xixin He2, Qiuhe Chen1

  • 1School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China.

Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry
|January 10, 2018
PubMed

Insights

Caffeic acid (CA) and ferulic acid (FA) show promise for Alzheimer's disease (AD) treatment. Their combined properties offer multi-target-directed ligand potential against AD's complex pathology.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Pharmacology
  • Natural Products Chemistry

Background:

  • Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by cognitive decline, cholinergic neuron loss, amyloid plaques, and neurofibrillary tangles.
  • Current therapeutic strategies for AD are limited, highlighting the need for novel treatment approaches.
  • Hydroxycinnamic acids, such as caffeic acid (CA) and ferulic acid (FA), are abundant in nature and possess diverse bioactivities.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the pharmacological activities of caffeic acid (CA) and ferulic acid (FA).
  • To explore the potential of CA and FA, and their hybrids, as multi-target-directed ligands (MTDLs) for Alzheimer's disease (AD) therapy.
  • To discuss the future applications of CA and FA in the development of novel AD treatments.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of pharmacological activities of CA and FA.
  • Analysis of studies investigating CA and FA for neuroprotection, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-amyloid aggregation effects.
  • Evaluation of CA and FA hybrids as potential multi-target-directed ligands (MTDLs).

Main Results:

  • CA and FA exhibit significant antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, and anti-amyloid aggregation properties.
  • These properties are directly relevant to mitigating key pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD).
  • Hybrid molecules derived from CA and FA demonstrate potential as multi-target-directed ligands (MTDLs) for AD.

Conclusions:

  • Caffeic acid (CA) and ferulic acid (FA) possess a range of pharmacological activities beneficial for Alzheimer's disease (AD) treatment.
  • Their potential as multi-target-directed ligands (MTDLs) offers a promising avenue for developing effective AD therapies.
  • Further research into CA- and FA-based MTDLs is warranted for future clinical applications against AD.

Keywords:
Alzheimer’s diseaseCaffeic acidFerulic acidHybridsMulti-target-directed ligands

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