A Review of the Pharmacological Properties of Psoralen

Yali Ren; Xiaominting Song; Lu Tan; Chuanjie Guo; Miao Wang; Hui Liu; Zhixing Cao; Yuzhi Li; Cheng Peng

doi:10.3389/fphar.2020.571535

A Review of the Pharmacological Properties of Psoralen

Front Pharmacol. 2020 Sep 4:11:571535. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2020.571535. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Yali Ren¹, Xiaominting Song¹, Lu Tan¹, Chuanjie Guo¹, Miao Wang¹, Hui Liu², Zhixing Cao¹, Yuzhi Li¹, Cheng Peng¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Key Laboratory of Standardization for Chinese Herbal Medicine, Ministry of Education, National Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Systematic Research, Development and Utilization of Chinese Medicine Resources, Chengdu, China.
² Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Drug Discovery for Metabolic Disease, China, Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, China.

Abstract

Psoralen is the principal bioactive component in the dried fruits of Cullen corylifolium (L.) Medik (syn. Psoralea corylifolia L), termed "Buguzhi" in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Recent studies have demonstrated that psoralen displays multiple bioactive properties, beneficial for the treatment of osteoporosis, tumors, viruses, bacteria, and inflammation. The present review focuses on the research evidence relating to the properties of psoralen gathered over recent years. Firstly, multiple studies have demonstrated that psoralen exerts strong anti-osteoporotic effects via regulation of osteoblast/osteoclast/chondrocyte differentiation or activation due to the participation in multiple molecular mechanisms of the wnt/β-catenin, bone morphogenetic protein (BMP), inositol-requiring enzyme 1 (IRE1)/apoptosis signaling kinase 1 (ASK1)/c-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and the Protein Kinase B(AKT)/activator protein-1 (AP-1) axis, and the expression of miR-488, peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor-gamma (PPARγ), and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). In addition, the antitumor properties of psoralen are associated with the induction of ER stress-related cell death via enhancement of PERK: Pancreatic Endoplasmic Reticulum Kinase (PERK)/activating transcription factor (ATF), 78kD glucose-regulated protein (GRP78)/C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP), and 94kD glucose-regulated protein (GRP94)/CHOP signaling, and inhibition of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) or ATPase that overcomes multidrug resistance. Furthermore, multiple articles have shown that the antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects of psoralen are a result of its interaction with viral polymerase (Pol), destroying the formation of biofilm, and regulating the activation of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β), interleukin 4/5/6/8/12/13 (IL-4/5/6/8/12/13), GATA-3, acetylcholinesterase (AChE), and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Finally, the toxic effects and mechanisms of action of psoralen have also been reviewed.

Keywords: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2; inflammatory; osteoporosis; psoralen; tumor.

Publication types

Review