Drug Design, Development and Therapy (Aug 2024)

Chemistry, Pharmacology and Therapeutic Potential of Decursin: A Promising Natural Lead for New Drug Discovery and Development

  • Muralikrishnan A,
  • Sekar M,
  • Kumarasamy V,
  • Gan SH,
  • Ravi S,
  • Subramaniyan V,
  • Wong LS,
  • Wu YS,
  • Khattulanuar FS,
  • Mat Rani NNI

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 18
pp. 3741 – 3763

Abstract

Read online

Amrita Muralikrishnan,1 Mahendran Sekar,1 Vinoth Kumarasamy,2 Siew Hua Gan,1 Subban Ravi,3 Vetriselvan Subramaniyan,4 Ling Shing Wong,5 Yuan Seng Wu,6 Farrah Syazana Khattulanuar,7 Nur Najihah Izzati Mat Rani7 1School of Pharmacy, Monash University Malaysia, Bandar Sunway, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia; 2Department of Parasitology & Medical Entomology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, 56000, Malaysia; 3Department of Chemistry, Karpagam Academy of Higher Education, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India; 4Department of Medical Sciences, School of Medical and Life Sciences, Sunway University, Bandar Sunway, Selangor 47500, Malaysia; 5Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, INTI International University, Nilai, 71800, Malaysia; 6Sunway Microbiome Centre & Department of Biological Sciences, School of Medical and Life Sciences, Sunway University, Bandar Sunway, Selangor, 47500, Malaysia; 7Faculty of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Royal College of Medicine Perak, Universiti Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, Perak, 30450, MalaysiaCorrespondence: Mahendran Sekar, School of Pharmacy, Monash University Malaysia, Bandar Sunway, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia, Email [email protected] Vinoth Kumarasamy, Department of Parasitology & Medical Entomology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Yaacob Latif, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, 56000, Malaysia, Email [email protected]: Decursin is a pyranocoumarin compounds which are rare secondary metabolic plant products, isolated from the roots of Angelica gigas (A. gigas). The native Korean species Angelica gigas Nakai (AGN) is widely used as a remedy for a variety of medical conditions including hematopoiesis, improving women’s circulation, as sedatives, analgesics and tonic. It is unique because of the presence of substantial amounts of pyranocoumarins including decursin, decursinol, and decursinol angelate. In this review, we provide a comprehensive insight into the distribution, morphology, and chemical composition of A. gigas. A detailed discussion regarding the biological applications of decursin based on the literature retrieved from PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Google Scholar from 2000 to the present has been discussed. Both in vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated that decursin has potential neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory, anti-melanogenic, anti-angiogenic, antioxidant, and anti-visceral properties. Mechanistic findings establish its significance in regulating important signalling pathways, triggering apoptosis, and preventing metastasis in different cancer types. The review additionally addressed the isolation methods, biosynthesis, physiochemical characteristics, toxicity and pharmacokinetic profile of decursin. The present state of clinical studies including A. gigas is investigated, emphasizing its advancements and possibilities in the field of translational medicine. Keywords: decursin, Angelica gigas, pyranocoumarins, biosynthesis, pharmacology

Keywords