The bioactive compounds found in foods and medicinal plants are attractive molecules for the development of new drugs with action against several diseases, such as those associated with inflammatory processes, which are commonly related to oxidative stress. Many of these compounds have an appreciable inhibitory effect on oxidative stress and inflammatory response, and may contribute in a preventive way to improve the quality of life through the use of a diet rich in these compounds. Eugenol is a natural compound that has several pharmacological activities, action on the redox status, and applications in the food and pharmaceutical industry. Considering the importance of this compound, the present review discusses its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, demonstrating its mechanisms of action and therapeutic potential for the treatment of inflammatory diseases.

Many phenolic compounds found in foods and medicinal plants have shown interesting therapeutic potential and have attracted the attention of the pharmaceutical industry as promising pharmacologically active compounds in health promotion and disease prevention. Vanillin is a phenolic aldehyde, widely used as a flavoring agent in the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics industries. A variety of pharmacological activities has been attributed to this compound and its main metabolites, vanillic acid and vanillyl alcohol, including their anti-inflammatory ability. The relationship of the anti- inflammatory effects of vanillin, vanillic acid, and vanillyl alcohol and their actions on oxidative stress is well established. Considering that the inflammatory process is related to several pathologies, including new diseases with few therapeutic options, and limited efficiency, the search for effective treatment strategies and discovery of new anti-inflammatory agents capable of modulating inflammation becomes necessary. Therefore, in this review, we discuss the therapeutic potential of vanillin and its main metabolites for the treatment of inflammatory diseases and their actions on redox status. In addition, the molecular docking evaluation of vanillin, its metabolites and isoeugenol were carried out into the phospholipase A2 binding site.

Piplartine (1) is an alkamide extracted from plants of the genus Piper which shows several pharmacological properties, including antitumor activity. To improve this activity, a series of analogues based on 1 have been synthesized by esterification and amidation using the 3,4,5-trimethoxycinnamic acid-like starting material. During the study, the moieties 3-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)acrylate and 3-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)acrylamide were maintained on esters and amides respectively. Meanwhile, functional changes were exploited, and it was revealed that the presence of two aromatic rings in the side-chain was important to improve the cytotoxic activity against the U87MG cell line, such as the compound (E)-benzhydryl 3-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)acrylate (10), an ester that exhibited strong cytotoxicity and a similar level of potency to that of paclitaxel, a positive control. Compound 10 had a marked concentration-dependent inhibitory effect on the viability of the U87MG cell line with apoptotic and oxidative processes, showing good potential for altering main molecular pathways to prevent tumor development. Moreover, it has strong bioavailability with non-genotoxic and non-cytotoxic properties on human blood cells. In conclusion, the findings of the present study demonstrated that compound 10 is a promising agent that may find applications combatting diseases associated with oxidative stress and as a prototype for the development of novel drugs used in the treatment of glioblastoma.

Depression is a health problem that compromises the quality of life of the world′s population. It has different levels of severity and a symptomatic profile that affects social life and performance in work activities, as well as a high number of deaths in certain age groups. In the search for new therapeutic options for the treatment of this behavioral disorder, the present review describes studies on antidepressant activity of cinnamic acids, which are natural products found in medicinal plants and foods. The description of the animal models used and the mechanisms of action of these compounds are discussed.

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is one of the most important neurodegenerative diseases and it covers 60% of whole dementia cases. AD is a constantly progressing neurodegenerative disease as a result of the production of β-amyloid (Aβ) protein and the accumulation of hyper-phosphorylated Tau protein; it causes breakages in the synaptic bonds and neuronal deaths to a large extent. Millions of people worldwide suffer from AD because there is no definitive drug for disease prevention, treatment or slowdown. Over the last decade, multiple target applications have been developed for AD treatments. These targets include Aβ accumulations, hyper-phosphorylated Tau proteins, mitochondrial dysfunction, and oxidative stress resulting in toxicity. Various natural or semisynthetic antioxidant formulations have been shown to protect brain cells from Aβ induced toxicity and provide promising potentials for AD treatment. Ferulic acid (FA), a high-capacity antioxidant molecule, is naturally synthesized from certain plants. FA has been shown to have different substantial biological properties, such as anticancer, antidiabetic, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, and cardioprotective actions, etc. Furthermore, FA exerted neuroprotection via preventing Aβ-fibril formation, acting as an anti-inflammatory agent, and inhibiting free radical generation and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) enzyme activity. In this review, we present key biological roles of FA and several FA derivatives in Aβ-induced neurotoxicity, protection against free radical attacks, and enzyme inhibitions and describe them as possible therapeutic agents for the treatment of AD.