A systematic review on the neuroprotective perspectives of beta‐caryophyllene

Abstract

Beta (β)-caryophyllene (BCAR) is a major sesquiterpene of various plant essential oils reported for several important pharmacological activities, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, cardioprotective, hepatoprotective, gastroprotective, nephroprotective, antimicrobial, and immune-modulatory activity. Recent studies suggest that it also possesses neuroprotective effect. This study reviews published reports pertaining to the neuropharmacological activities of BCAR. Databases such as PubMed, Scopus, MedLine Plus, and Google Scholar with keywords "beta (β)-caryophyllene" and other neurological keywords were searched. Data were extracted by referring to articles with information about the dose or concentration/route of administration, test system, results and discussion, and proposed mechanism of action. A total of 545 research articles were recorded, and 41 experimental studies were included in this review, after application of exclusion criterion. Search results suggest that BCAR exhibits a protective role in a number of nervous system-related disorders including pain, anxiety, spasm, convulsion, depression, alcoholism, and Alzheimer's disease.Additionally, BCAR has local anesthetic-like activity, which could protect the nervous system from oxidative stress and inflammation and can act as an immunomodulatory agent. Most neurological activities of this natural product have been linked with the cannabinoid receptors (CBRs), especially the CB2R. This review suggests a possible application of BCAR as a neuroprotective agent.

β-Caryophyllene: A Sesquiterpene with Countless Biological Properties

“…It has also been demonstrated that BCP, at the dose of 10 mg/kg, inhibits the transcription of iNOS, IL-1β, IL-6, and COX-2 in C6 microglia cells [9,24].…”

“…In the last few years, BCP has represented an important subject of study [9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. In particular, a lot of researches about the its effects in vitro and in vivo on animals have been conducted, thus experimental data about its biological properties have been verified.…”

“…In detail, BCP, administered intraperitoneally in Wistar rats, at the dose of 50 mg/kg, has reduced the activity of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and, consequently, nitric oxide production, thus decreasing brain oxidative stress and leading to the inhibition of lipid peroxidation and the depletion of glutathione stores [22], causing striatal and cortical neurotoxicity [9]. Moreover, nitric oxide is involved in the activation of cyclooxygenase (COX), the enzyme synthetizing prostaglandin H2 (PGH2), which is the precursor of the other prostaglandins, in particular Prostaglandin D2 (PGD2) and Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), responsible for inflammation and pain.…”

“…Sci. 2019, 9, 5420 7 of 19 (BBB), particularly during mitosis, in which it modulates the filament network, and in the repair following brain injuries [9,28]. It has been demonstrated that BCP administered intraperitoneally at the dosage of 50 mg/kg, reduces the activation of astrocytes and microglia, by decreasing Iba-1 and GFAP expression, thus avoiding the death of dopaminergic neurons [22].…”

“…The expression of CB2-Rs in the central nervous system is increased in neurodegenerative pathologies, such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and in some tumours like gliomas [14]. In addition to the involvement in physiological functions, CB2-Rs are implied in numerous pathological processes, so they can represent an interesting target in order to obtain agonist molecules for the treatment of many pathological conditions, including neuropathic pain, inflammation, neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative pathologies (Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), spinal and brain injuries, stroke, ischemia, anxiety disorder, depression, colitis, fibrosis and liver ischemia, atherosclerosis, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, diabetes, obesity, and some types of cancer [9,[12][13][14][16][17][18][19][20][21].…”