Baicalin and CNS-related diseases: new insights into neuroprotective potentials based on underlying mechanisms

Central nervous system (CNS)-associated diseases such as neurological (including cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury and stroke, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, traumatic brain injury, and spinal cord injury) and psychological (including depression, anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and dementia) diseases are known as serious problems for public health worldwide. These diseases contribute to the occurrence of several disabilities and even death in affected individuals, and also decrease their quality of life. Therefore, discovering effective complementary treatments is essential. Recently, baicalin, a multifunctional natural product, has attracted much attention because of its therapeutic potentials in various diseases. Moreover, it has been shown that this agent can regulate key cellular and molecular processes in human diseases. In the case of CNS-related diseases, this review article aimed to summarize and discuss the available data from in vivo and in vitro investigations on the therapeutic application of baicalin, based on underlying mechanisms.