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Natural Products in Neurological Diseases
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Natural Products in Neurological Diseases

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Bioactives and Nutraceuticals".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 April 2023) | Viewed by 7733

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Junho H. Lee

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biotechnology, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61886, Korea
Interests: neuroprotective compounds; bioactive compounds; voltage-gated ion channels; ligand-gated ion channels; channelopathies; neurological diseases; neurodegeneration

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to invite you to contribute to our Special Issue of the International Journal of Molecular Sciences (IJMS), entitled “Natural Products in Neurological Diseases”. This issue will cover a selection of recent research topics and current review articles reporting the latest updates on related neurological diseases.

Although precision medicine is not yet part of routine care for most patients suffering from neurological diseases, increased knowledge of the neuronal system with more detailed stratification based on studies helps to move the field of precision neurology forward. Neurological diseases, which include a broad spectrum of central nervous system diseases that can arise throughout the lifespan ranging from childhood through to advanced ages, remain among the most compelling illnesses known to humankind. In recent years, progress in both basic and translational research has helped us to understand the details of molecular signaling and genetic regulation of neurological disorders as a potential molecular basis. Natural products are their wide range of pharmacological and biological activities, such as in biomedicine and pharmacotherapy and they are considered enlightened substitutives for the treatment of neuronal diseases. Natural products are known to have different biological activities and can be useful in the treatment and management various kinds of human diseases due to their outstanding biological properties.

Accordingly, this Special Issue aims to focus on advances in our understanding of natural products in the treatment of neurological disorders by considering genetics, molecular biology, cell biology, neuroimmunology, and pharmacology aspects.

Prof. Dr. Junho H. Lee
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • neuroprotective compounds
  • bioactive compounds
  • voltage-gated ion channels
  • ligand-gated ion channels
  • channelopathies
  • neurological diseases
  • neurodegeneration
  • ion channel
  • receptor

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 4247 KiB  
Article
Fermented Perilla frutescens Ameliorates Depression-like Behavior in Sleep-Deprivation-Induced Stress Model
by Hye Jin Jee, Dajung Ryu, Suyeon Kim, Sung Hum Yeon, Rak Ho Son, Seung Hwan Hwang and Yi-Sook Jung
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(1), 622; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24010622 - 30 Dec 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3270
Abstract
Excessive stress plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of mood disorders such as depression. Fermented natural products have recently attracted attention because of their health benefits. We evaluated the antidepressant-like efficacy of fermented Perilla frutescens (FPF), and its underlying mechanisms, in sleep [...] Read more.
Excessive stress plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of mood disorders such as depression. Fermented natural products have recently attracted attention because of their health benefits. We evaluated the antidepressant-like efficacy of fermented Perilla frutescens (FPF), and its underlying mechanisms, in sleep deprivation (SD)-induced stress mice. SD-stressed mice revealed a remarkable increase in the immobility time in both forced swimming test and tail suspension test; this increase was ameliorated by treatment with FPF at doses of 100 and 150 mg/kg. FPF treatment also reduced the level of stress hormones such as corticosterone and adrenocorticotropic hormone. Additionally, FPF increased the levels of serotonin and dopamine which were significantly decreased in the brain tissues of SD-stressed mice. The increased expression of proinflammatory cytokines, such as TNF-α and IL1β, and the decreased expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the stressed mice were significantly reversed by FPF treatment. Furthermore, FPF also increased phosphorylation of tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB), extracellular regulated protein kinase (ERK), and cAMP response element binding protein (CREB). Among the six components isolated from FPF, protocatechuic acid and luteolin-7-O-glucuronide exhibited significant antidepressant-like effects, suggesting that they are major active components. These findings suggest that FPF has therapeutic potential for SD-induced stress, by correcting dysfunction of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and modulating the BDNF/TrkB/ERK/CREB signaling pathway. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Products in Neurological Diseases)
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15 pages, 3310 KiB  
Article
Novel Antidepressant Mechanism of Ginsenoside Rg1 in Regulating the Dysfunction of the Glutamatergic System in Astrocytes
by Ningning Zhang, Hong Jiang, Huiqin Wang, Yating Wang, Ye Peng, Yangbo Liu, Congyuan Xia, Xu Yan, Shifeng Chu, Yi Zhang, Zhenzhen Wang and Naihong Chen
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(1), 575; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24010575 - 29 Dec 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1815
Abstract
Ginsenoside Rg1, a traditional Chinese medicine monomer, has been shown to have antidepressant effects. We previously found that Rg1 exerts antidepressant effects by improving the gap junction channels (GJCs) dysfunction; however, the downstream mechanisms through which Rg1 ameliorates GJC dysfunction remain unclear. Since [...] Read more.
Ginsenoside Rg1, a traditional Chinese medicine monomer, has been shown to have antidepressant effects. We previously found that Rg1 exerts antidepressant effects by improving the gap junction channels (GJCs) dysfunction; however, the downstream mechanisms through which Rg1 ameliorates GJC dysfunction remain unclear. Since hemichannels directly release glutamate, GJC dysfunction decreases the expression levels of glutamate transporters in astrocytes, and glutamatergic system dysfunction plays an essential role in the pathogenesis of depression. The glutamatergic system may be a potential downstream target of Rg1 that exerts antidepressant effects. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to determine the downstream mechanisms by which Rg1 ameliorated GJC dysfunction and exerted its antidepressant effects. Corticosterone (CORT) is used to mimic high glucocorticoid levels in patients with depression in vitro. Primary cortical astrocytes were isolated and phosphorylation of connexin43 (Cx43) as well as the functions of hemichannels, GJCs, and the glutamatergic system were evaluated after drug treatment. Rg1 pretreatment reversed the anomalous activation of Cx43 phosphorylation as well as the dysfunction of hemichannels, GJCs, and the glutamatergic system induced by CORT. These results suggest that Rg1 can ameliorate CORT-induced dysfunction of the glutamatergic system in astrocytes by potentially reducing Cx43 phosphorylation and inhibiting opening of hemichannels, thereby improving GJC dysfunction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Products in Neurological Diseases)
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13 pages, 1872 KiB  
Article
Sodium Butyrate Supplementation Modulates Neuroinflammatory Response Aggravated by Antibiotic Treatment in a Mouse Model of Binge-like Ethanol Drinking
by Lei Gao, Daryl L. Davies and Liana Asatryan
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(24), 15688; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms232415688 - 10 Dec 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1845
Abstract
Growing evidence supports the pivotal role of the bidirectional interplay between the gut microbiota and the central nervous system during the progression of alcohol use disorder (AUD). In our previous study, supplementation with sodium butyrate (SB) in C57BL/6J mice prevented increased ethanol consumption [...] Read more.
Growing evidence supports the pivotal role of the bidirectional interplay between the gut microbiota and the central nervous system during the progression of alcohol use disorder (AUD). In our previous study, supplementation with sodium butyrate (SB) in C57BL/6J mice prevented increased ethanol consumption in a binge-like drinking paradigm (DID) as a result of treatment with a non-absorbable antibiotic cocktail (ABX). In this study, we tested the hypothesis that SB protection against enhanced ABX-induced ethanol consumption in mice is partially due to modulation of neuroinflammatory responses. Pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines, as well as changes in microglia and astrocytes were analyzed in hippocampus tissues from ABX-, SB-, ABX+SB-treated mice subjected to 4-week DID. We found that ethanol without or with ABX treatment increased mRNA levels of key brain cytokines (MCP-1, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-10) while SB supplementation prevented these changes. Additionally, SB supplementation prevented changes in microglia, i.e., increase in Iba-1 positive cell number and morphology, and in astrocytes, i.e., decrease in GFAP-positive cell number, induced by combination of ethanol and ABX treatments. Our results suggest that gut microbiota metabolites can influence drinking behavior by modulation of neuroinflammation, highlighting the potential for microbiome-targeting strategies for treatment or prevention of AUD. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Products in Neurological Diseases)
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