Research Progress on the Mechanisms of Protocatechuic Acid in the Treatment of Cognitive Impairment

• Published in: Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 29; no. 19; p. 4724
• Main Authors: Liang, Shuzhi, Zhao, Zhongmin, Liu, Leilei, Zhang, Yan, Liu, Xijian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 06.10.2024; MDPI
• Subjects: Acids; Animals; Apoptosis; Brain research; Cognition & reasoning; Cognitive ability; Cognitive Dysfunction - drug therapy; Cognitive Dysfunction - metabolism; cognitive impairment; Decomposition; Diabetes; Dopamine; Humans; Hydroxybenzoates - pharmacology; Hydroxybenzoates - therapeutic use; Hypoglycemia; Ischemia; Liver; mechanism of action; Memory; Metabolites; Neuroprotective Agents - pharmacology; Neuroprotective Agents - therapeutic use; Oxidative Stress - drug effects; Permeability; Pharmacokinetics; procatechuic acid; Review; Signal Transduction - drug effects; Stem cells; mechanism of action; cognitive impairment; procatechuic acid
• ISSN: 1420-3049; 1420-3049
• DOI: 10.3390/molecules29194724

Cognitive impairment (CI) is a type of mental health disorder that mainly affects cognitive abilities, such as learning, memory, perception, and problem-solving. Currently, in clinical practice, the treatment of cognitive impairment mainly focuses on the application of cholinesterase inhibitors and NMDA receptor antagonists; however, there is no specific and effective drug yet. Procatechuic acid (PCA) possesses various functions, including antibacterial, antiasthmatic, and expectorant effects. In recent years, it has received growing attention in the cognitive domain. Therefore, by summarizing the mechanisms of action of procatechuic acid in the treatment of cognitive impairment in this paper, it is found that procatechuic acid has multiple effects, such as regulating the expression of neuroprotective factors, inhibiting cell apoptosis, promoting the autophagy-lysosome pathway, suppressing oxidative stress damage, inhibiting inflammatory responses, improving synaptic plasticity dysfunction, inhibiting Aβ deposition, reducing APP hydrolysis, enhancing the cholinergic system, and inhibiting the excitotoxicity of neuronal cells. The involved signaling pathways include activating Pi3K-akt-mTor and inhibiting JNK, P38 MAPK, P38-ERK-JNK, SIRT1, and NF-κB/p53, etc. This paper aims to present the latest progress in research on procatechuic acid, including aspects such as its chemical properties, sources, pharmacokinetics, mechanisms for treating neurodegenerative diseases.