Research Progress on Regulating Autophagy in Traditional Chinese Medicine for the Treatment of Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injury (TBI), characterized by structural brain damage caused by external physical shocks, is a significant global health challenge. Autophagy plays an important role in the cellular self-protection mechanism during its pathological progression. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has a long history and unique advantages in neuroprotection. This review summarizes the key markers of autophagy and the relevant signaling pathways involved in autophagy in TBI, mainly including the PI3K/Akt/mTOR, AMPK/mTOR, Nrf2, TLR4 signaling pathways, and the endoplasmic reticulum stress autophagy axis. In addition, this paper summarizes the recent advances in TCM approaches in TBI autophagy treatment, such as terpenoids, flavonoids, polyphenols, alkaloids, and carotenoids, which are active components of TCM, as well as acupuncture nonpharmacological therapies.