Natural Products Regulate the P38MAPK Signaling Pathway: A Promising Strategy in the Prevention and Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease is a common neurodegenerative condition that severely affects the quality of life of patients and their families, resulting in a substantial societal burden. In the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease, the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway is closely associated with neuroinflammation, apoptosis, synaptic plasticity, amyloid beta deposition, and aberrant tau phosphorylation. Natural products have a high potential for therapeutic modulation of the P38 MAPK pathway. We searched PubMed, EMBASE, Medline, and Web of Science, utilizing the keywords “Alzheimer’s disease,” “neurodegenerative diseases,” “MAPK,” and “P38MAPK” and “natural products” to identify natural products that can be used to treat Alzheimer’s disease by modulating the P38MAPK pathway. Various natural products were found to act on p38 MAPK, including saponins, flavonoids, alkaloids, acids, terpenoids, and glycosides. All these active agents can treat Alzheimer’s disease through their interactions with p38 MAPK. This study aimed to examine the use of natural products to intervene in Alzheimer’s disease and regulate the p38 MAPK pathway to provide potential ideas for further drug research and development.