香料化合物治疗神经退行性疾病的研究进展

The progress of flavor compounds on the therapy of neurodegenerative diseases

摘要:

神经退行性疾病主要是由大脑神经元的损伤引起的，包括阿尔茨海默症、帕金森病、亨廷顿病等，常见于中老年人群，给老龄化社会带来了巨大负担。研究表明，其病理涉及神经炎症、线粒体功能障碍和铁死亡等多种机制，其中神经炎症在病症出现前就已存在，并不断恶化，加重病情。香料化合物作为小分子物质，具有穿透血脑屏障的能力，其独特的多官能团结构能够通过抑制神经炎症来改善脑部微环境，进而发挥神经保护功能，为缓解和治疗神经退行性疾病提供了新的可能。该文首先介绍了神经退行性疾病中的神经炎症；然后根据香料化合物的结构进行分类，对比了不同香料化合物通过缓解神经炎症进而治疗神经退行性疾病的不同机制；最后指出了当前研究中存在的不足与局限，为未来治疗神经退行性疾病和相关研究提供了新方案和新方向。

Abstract:

Neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer"s disease, Parkinson"s disease, and Huntington"s disease, are primarily caused by the damage to brain neurons and commonly affect middle-aged and elderly individuals, posing a significant burden on aging societies. Studies has indicated that the pathologies of these diseases involve various mechanisms including neuroinflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and ferroptosis. Of these mechanisms, neuroinflammation is present before the onset of the disease and worsens as it progresses. Flavor compounds have shown potential in penetrating the blood-brain barrier due to their small size. Their unique multi-functional structure allows them to improve the brain microenvironment by inhibiting neuroinflammation and exerting a neuroprotective effect, which presents a new possibility for alleviating and treating neurodegenerative diseases. This paper provides an overview of neuroinflammation in neurodegenerative diseases, compares the different mechanisms of various flavor compounds in alleviating neuroinflammation and treating neurodegenerative diseases based on their chemical structures, and identifies the current research"s limitations and shortcomings while offering a new plan and direction for future treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and related studies.