Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Biological Chemistry, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
  • 2 Neuropharmacology Research Strength, Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia, Subang Jaya, Malaysia
  • 3 Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, India
J Biochem Mol Toxicol, 2021 Feb 15.
PMID: 33587308 DOI: 10.1002/jbt.22711

Abstract

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the most common neurodegenerative movement disorder with obscure etiology and no disease-modifying therapy to date. Hence, novel, safe, and low cost-effective approaches employing medicinal plants are currently receiving increased attention. A growing body of evidence has revealed that cinnamon, being widely used as a spice of unique flavor and aroma, may exert neuroprotective effects in several neurodegenerative diseases, including PD. In vitro evidence has indicated that the essential oils of Cinnamomum species, mainly cinnamaldehyde and sodium benzoate, may protect against oxidative stress-induced cell death, reactive oxygen species generation, and autophagy dysregulation, thus acting in a potentially neuroprotective manner. In vivo evidence has demonstrated that oral administration of cinnamon powder and sodium benzoate may protect against dopaminergic cell death, striatal neurotransmitter dysregulation, and motor deficits in 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine mouse models of PD. The underlying mechanisms of its action include autophagy regulation, antioxidant effects, upregulation of Parkin, DJ-1, glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor, as well as modulation of the Toll-like receptors/nuclear factor-κB pathway and inhibition of the excessive proinflammatory responses. In addition, in vitro and in vivo studies have shown that cinnamon extracts may affect the oligomerization process and aggregation of α-synuclein. Herein, we discuss recent evidence on the novel therapeutic opportunities of this phytochemical against PD, indicating additional mechanistic aspects that should be explored and potential obstacles/limitations that need to be overcome for its inclusion in experimental PD therapeutics.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.