REVIEW article

Front. Pharmacol.

Sec. Ethnopharmacology

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1552801

This article is part of the Research TopicPharmacology of Natural Products against Neurodegenerative DisordersView all 5 articles

Volatile Oil of Acori tatarinowii rhizoma: Potential Candidate Drugs for Mitigating Dementia

Provisionally accepted
Yifan  BuYifan Bu1Songzhe  LiSongzhe Li1Ting  YeTing Ye2Yuqing  WangYuqing Wang1Mingrong  SongMingrong Song1Jing  ChenJing Chen1*
  • 1Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, China
  • 2Second Affiliated Hospital, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Objective: This study aims to elucidate the mitigating effects of the volatile oil of Acori tatarinowii rhizoma (ATR) on dementia, in order to provide a reference for future research and applications of the volatile oil of ATR in the field of dementia.Materials and Methods: A search strategy was developed using terms such as "Acori tatarinowii rhizoma," "Acorus tatarinowii Schott," "Asarone," and "Dementia." The literature search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar, and studies not meeting the inclusion criteria were excluded. This study summarizes the main metabolites, active ingredients, toxicological properties, and pharmacokinetic characteristics of the volatile oil from ATR in mitigating dementia, with a particular focus on its potential mechanisms of action. Furthermore, the study highlights the limitations of existing research and offers insights into future research directions.Results: The volatile oil of ATR mitigates dementia through multiple pathways, including reducing abnormal protein aggregation, promoting neurogenesis, inhibiting neuronal apoptosis, regulating neurotransmitters, improving synaptic function, modulating autophagy, countering cellular stress, reducing neuroinflammation, and alleviating vascular risk factors.The multi-pathway pharmacological effects of the volatile oil of ATR are well-aligned with the complex mechanisms of dementia progression, highlighting its significant therapeutic potential for anti-dementia applications. This provides new perspectives for the development of more effective anti-dementia drugs. Nonetheless, further rigorous and high-quality preclinical and clinical investigations are required to address key issues, including the chemical characterization of the volatile oil of ATR, potential synergistic effects among active ingredients, toxicity profiles, and definitive clinical efficacy.

Keywords: Acori tatarinowii rhizoma, α-asarone, β-asarone, Dementia, cognitive functions

Received: 29 Dec 2024; Accepted: 08 Apr 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Bu, Li, Ye, Wang, Song and Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Jing Chen, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, China

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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