Bioactive natural products against experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis: A pharmacokinetics review

Abstract

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a central nervous system (CNS) chronic disease in which axons are demyelinated and signal conduction is slowed or blocked. Unfortunately, current drugs that are used to treat MS have limited efficiency and considerable side effects. The use of bioactive natural products for treating neurodegenerative diseases has become of great interest due to their multimodal mechanism of action and potential safety. However, pharmacokinetic parameters such as bioavailability, absorption, metabolic pathways, and elimination routes are essential for evaluating the efficacy and toxicity of herbal medicines and herbal preparations in the clinic. In this review, we have summarized different pharmacokinetic parameters of neuroprotective natural products with anti-experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) effects and recent developments in strategies to improve their bioavailability and effectiveness.