Neuroprotective Potential of Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester (CAPE) in CNS Disorders: Mechanistic and Therapeutic Insights

Abstract

: Neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), stroke, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Huntington’s disease (HD), epilepsy, traumatic brain injury (TBI), depression and anxiety are responsible for thousands of deaths worldwide every year. With the increase in life expectancy, there has been a rise in the prevalence of these disorders. Age is one of the major risk factors for these neurological disorders and with the aged population is set to rise to 1.25 billion by 2050. There is a growing concern to look for new therapeutic molecules to treat age-related diseases. Caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) is a molecule obtained from a number of botanical sources such as the bark of conifer trees as well as propolis which is extracted from beehives. Though CAPE remains relatively unexplored in human trials, it possesses antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimitogenic and anti-cancer activities as shown by preclinical studies. Apart from this, it also exhibits tremendous potential for the treatment of neurological disorders through modulation of multiple molecular pathways and attenuation of behavioural deficits. In the present article, we have reviewed the therapeutic potential of CAPE and its mechanisms in the treatment of neurological disorders.

Pharmacological Modulation of TRPM2 Channels via TRPM2 Pathway Leads to Neuroprotection in MPTP-induced Parkinson’s Disease in Sprague Dawley Rats

“…Intranigral MPTP injection has been shown in the earlier reports to induce PD by selective loss of dopaminergic neurons. It has been further reported that MPTP also reduces the TH expression and subsequently leads to motor and cognitive de cits in rats [41,25,23,24,42]. Our data is consistent with these reports of the MPTP administration, which have also shown a reduction in the open eld and rotarod performance in the rodent model of PD.…”

Study on network pharmacology of Ginkgo biloba extract against ischaemic stroke mechanism and establishment of UPLC‐MS/MS methods for simultaneous determination of 19 main active components

“…The benefits of G. biloba and its preparations in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases mainly derive from the effective chemical components such as flavonoids and terpenoid lactones. In this study, through data mining and network pharmacology analysis of relevant literature, we found that the organic acid components (protocatechuic acid, caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, and gallic acid), flavonoid components (quercetin‐3‐O‐glucoside, quercetin‐3‐O‐rutinoside, kaempferol‐3‐O‐rutinoside, kaempferol‐3‐O‐glucoside, isorhamnetin‐3‐O‐rutinoside, isorhamnetin‐3‐O‐glucoside, apigenin‐7‐O‐glucoside, and apigenin), and terpenoid lactones (bilobalide, ginkgolide A, ginkgolide B, ginkgolide C, and ginkgolide J) had different effects such as anti‐inflammatory and anti‐oxidative activities, protecting the nervous system, changing blood rheology, and so on 22–50 . These components may be the potential active substance basis of its anti‐IS effect, so they were included in the scope of analysis and investigation of the active components of GBE against IS.…”

“…Based on literature data mining, flavonoid‐glycosides and terpenes in G. biloba are the main components of its pharmacological activities such as anti‐inflammatory, antioxidant, blood circulation‐improving, and platelet anti‐aggregatory activities 22–51 . Therefore, the above ingredients were selected for the study of the active ingredients of GBE against IS, as shown in Table 1.…”

Protection against Amyloid-β Oligomer Neurotoxicity by Small Molecules with Antioxidative Properties: Potential for the Prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease Dementia

“…Caffeic acid phenyl ester (CAPE), an antioxidative compound abundant in honeybee propolis, was shown to have beneficial effects against neuronal injuries [ 60 ]. In a recent study examining the effects of CAPE on AD pathology and cognitive functions in AβO-injected mice [ 61 ], CAPE, intraperitoneally administered for 10 days, significantly reversed spatial memory impairment, measured using the MWM test.…”