Neuroinflammation, which is involved in various inflammatory cascades in nervous tissues, can result in persistent and chronic apoptotic neuronal cell death and programmed cell death, triggering various degenerative disorders of the central nervous system (CNS). The neuroprotective effects of natural compounds against neuroinflammation are mainly mediated by their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiapoptotic properties that specifically promote or inhibit various molecular signal transduction pathways. However, natural compounds have several limitations, such as their pharmacokinetic properties and stability, which hinder their clinical development and use as medicines. This review discusses the molecular mechanisms of neuroinflammation and degenerative diseases of CNS. In addition, it emphasizes potential natural compounds and their promising nanocarriers for overcoming their limitations in the treatment of neuroinflammation. Moreover, recent promising CNS inflammation-targeted nanocarrier systems implementing lesion site-specific active targeting strategies for CNS inflammation are also discussed.
Keywords: blood–brain barrier (BBB); central nervous system (CNS) degenerative diseases; nanocarriers; natural compounds; neuroinflammation; neuroprotective; targeting.