Emerging roles of cardamonin, a multitargeted nutraceutical in the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases

Although chronic diseases are often caused by the perturbations in multiple cellular components involved in different biological processes, most of the approved therapeutics target a single gene/protein/pathway which makes them not as efficient as they are anticipated and are also known to cause severe side effects. Therefore, the pursuit of safe, efficacious, and multitargeted agents is imperative for the prevention and treatment of these diseases. Cardamonin is one such agent that has been known to modulate different signaling molecules such as transcription factors (NF-κB and STAT3), cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6) enzymes (COX-2, MMP-9 and ALDH1), other proteins and genes (Bcl-2, XIAP and cyclin D1), involved in the development and progression of chronic diseases. Multiple lines of evidence emerging from pre-clinical studies advocate the promising potential of this agent against various pathological conditions like cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, neurological disorders, inflammation, rheumatoid arthritis, etc., despite its poor bioavailability. Therefore, further studies are paramount in establishing its efficacy in clinical settings. Hence, the current review focuses on highlighting the underlying molecular mechanism of action of cardamonin and delineating its potential in the prevention and treatment of different chronic diseases.