Lü Junxuan, Jiang Cheng, Drabick Joseph J, Joshi Monika, Perimbeti Stuthi
Department of Pharmacology, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, 17033, USA.
Penn State Cancer Institute, Pennsylvania State University, Hershey, PA, 17033, USA.
Pharm Res. 2025 Jan;42(1):25-47. doi: 10.1007/s11095-024-03809-9. Epub 2025 Jan 8.
Angelica gigas Nakai (AGN) root is a medicinal herbal widely used in traditional medicine in Korea. AGN root ethanolic extracts have been marketed as dietary supplements in the United States for memory health and pain management. We have recently reviewed the pharmacokinetics (PK) and first-pass hepatic metabolism of ingested AGN supplements in humans for the signature pyranocoumarins decursin (D, C 1x), decursinol angelate (DA, C ~ 10x) and their common botanical precursor and hepatic metabolite decursinol (DOH, C ~ 1000x). Here we update in vivo medicinal activities of AGN and/or its pyranocoumarins and furanocoumarin nodakenin in cancer, pain, memory loss, cerebral ischemia reperfusion stroke, metabolic syndrome and vascular endothelial dysfunctions, anxiety, sleep disorder, epilepsy, inflammatory bowel disease, osteoporosis and osteoarthritis. Given their polypharmacology nature, the pertinent mechanisms of action are likely misrepresented by many cell culture studies that did not consider the drug metabolism knowledge. We report here Rho-associated protein kinases (ROCK1/2) as novel targets for DA and DOH. Combining with published inhibitory activity of DOH on acetylcholinesterase, agonist activity of DOH and antagonist/degrader activity of DA/D on androgen and estrogen receptors, D/DA promoting activity for glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD)- gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) inhibitory axis and inhibition of glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH), monoamine oxidase-A (MAO-A) and transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1), we postulate their contributions to neuro-cognitive, metabolic, oncologic, vascular and other beneficial bioactivities of AGN extracts. A clinical trial is being planned for an AGN extract to manage side effects of androgen deprivation therapy in prostate cancer patients.
Anticancer Agents Med Chem. 2012-12
J Sci Food Agric. 2019-1-31
Cancers (Basel). 2024-8-18
Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol. 2025-1
Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis. 2024-9
JAAD Int. 2023-7-22
Neuron. 2023-11-1