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REVIEW article

Front. Nutr.

Sec. Nutrition, Psychology and Brain Health

Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1646438

This article is part of the Research TopicThe Foundational Components and Elements of Plant Foods for Neurological Nutrition and Well-beingView all 6 articles

Bioactive compounds in Chinese herbal medicine: anti-inflammatory mechanisms targeting neurological disorders

Provisionally accepted
  • Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Nearly 16% of the world's population is affected by neurological disorders, including neurodegenerative and neuroimmune diseases caused by acute or chronic inflammation.Inflammatory processes in the central nervous system can exacerbate these diseases by causing neuronal damage and apoptosis. Traditional Chinese medicines have become an important area of research in anti-neuroinflammation and neuroprotection owing to their multi-target effects and favorable safety profiles. In this paper, we review the molecular mechanisms by which bioactive compounds of herbal origin inhibit neuroinflammation and improve disease progression through the modulation of inflammatory factors (including TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB, NLRP3 inflammasomes, and Janus kinase-STAT signaling), epigenetic modifications, cell-type-specific modulation (microglia M1/M2 polarization and astrocyte A1/A2 transformation), and gut-brain axis interactions. These bioactive compounds are mainly classified into those with well-defined chemical structures (such as baicalein, baicalin, berberine, and ginsenoside Rg1), plant extracts (such as tonifying Yang Huiwu Tang, Tongxinluo capsule, Shu Xuning injection, and Xingxiong injection), and preparations based on special mechanisms of action or technical means (such as Hedysari polysaccharides [RHP] and microglial cell exosome carrier berberine and palmatine [Exos-Ber/Pal]). We found that these compounds can improve cognitive and motor dysfunction by inhibiting neuroinflammation while exerting neuronal protection, but their low bioavailability, mechanistic complexity, and lack of clinical translational evidence remain challenges. In the future, a combination of multi-omics techniques, rigorously designed clinical trials, and interdisciplinary strategies will be required to promote the precise application of herbal medicines in neuroinflammation-related diseases.

Keywords: Herbal Medicine, Neuroinflammation, Molecular mechanisms, neurological disorders, multi-target therapy, gut-brain axis

Received: 13 Jun 2025; Accepted: 04 Aug 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Yang, Yang, Yang, Zhang, Tuo and Xu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence:
Haiqing Zhang, Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, China
Jinmei Tuo, Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, China
Zucai Xu, Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, China

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