Ellagic acid a multi-target bioactive compound for drug discovery in CNS? A narrative review

It is well-known that the health properties attributed to several fruits, herbs, seeds and their processed foods/beverages are due to an important group of natural polyphenols classified as hydrolysable tannins (HT) named ellagitannins (ETs), that encompass both one or more gallic acid (GA) units and one or more hexahydroxydiphenoic acid (HHDP) units, ester-connected with a sugar residue. In vivo, ETs are rather not absorbed and in gastrointestinal tract (GIT), they are hydrolysed providing mainly ellagic acid (EA). Due to its trivial water-solubility, first pass effect, metabolism in GIT, or irreversible binding to cellular DNA and proteins, EA has a very low bioavailability. Some authors are studying methods to increase EA water-solubility and thus to improve its bioavailability. At the same, EA metabolism to urolithins (UROs), whose concentration and activity is inter-individual and intra-individual dependent, is still under study and not completely elucidate. Numerous in vitro and in vivo studies have been carried out to define the molecular and cellular events underlying the beneficial effects that this compound and its metabolites exert in pathological conditions. The anti-inflammatory and the antioxidant properties of EA attracted the interest of researchers for its potential health benefits in humans, including anti-cancer, anti-diabetes activities and cardio-protection. Nevertheless, lately the attention paid to EA is focusing on its potential protective action towards several neurodegenerative disorders. Thus, EA is investigated as a potential “lead compound” endowed with multi-target pharmacological properties on CNS. Since the identification of the pharmacophore(s) responsible for both health benefits and collateral effects of this compound is crucial in drug discovery, this review aims to provide an all-round updated analysis of the literature concerning EA involvement in several CNS disorders, hoping that such information will be useful to researchers involved in multi-target drug design for CNS.