Traumatic brain injury: a review of pathophysiology and therapeutic potential of polyphenols

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is severe and may become debilitating for sufferers as a result of damage to the brain. Defining features include primary trauma, axonal damage, as well as both diffuse and focal lesions. One of the many complex biological responses to TBI are neuroinflammation and oxidative stress which are among the most important.

In this study, we assess the efficacy of polyphenols compounds on managing TBI, given that they are anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. We focus on recent literature that studies the impact of polyphenols on microglial activation as well as balancing the body's inflammatory and oxidative responses.

Evidence demonstrates the ability of polyphenols to lessen the impact of neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, and augmentation of the brain's protective mechanisms and antioxidants. This may help prevent the worsening of brain tissue damage that occurs post TBI. Based on these, there is increasing attention on polyphenols as potential treatment alternatives due to their non-invasive nature.

We enumerated some polyphenols with important therapeutic impacts in TBI such as Curcumin and Resveratrol, Quercetin, Gallic acid, Ferulic acid, Luteolin, and Caffeic acid. Their ability to target multiple damaging processes makes them strong candidates.