Current Evidence of Chinese Herbal Constituents with Effects on NMDA Receptor Blockade
Institute of Chinese Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
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Pharmaceuticals 2013, 6(8), 1039-1054; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph6081039
Received: 29 May 2013 / Revised: 6 August 2013 / Accepted: 19 August 2013 / Published: 21 August 2013
(This article belongs to the Special Issue NMDA Receptor Antagonists for Treatment of CNS Disorders)
NMDA receptor (NMDA-R) is an important molecular entity governing a wide range of functions in the central nervous system. For example, the NMDA-R is involved in memory and cognition, and impairment of both (as in Alzheimer’s Disease) is attributed to NMDA-mediated neurotoxicity. With greater understanding of the NMDA-R structure, antagonists with varying degrees of binding-site and subtype selectivity have been developed and put into clinical use. Discovery of target-specific Chinese herbs have also been made in parallel. This article provides an overview of the known active sites on the NMDA-R, followed by a discussion of the relevant herbs and their constituents. Experimental evidence supporting the inhibitory role of the herbal compounds on the NMDA-R is highlighted. For some of the compounds, potential research directions are also proposed to further elucidate the underlying mechanisms of the herbs. It is envisaged that future investigations based on the present data will allow more clinically relevant herbs to be identified.
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Keywords:
NMDA receptor; antagonist; herb; Chinese medicine
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License
MDPI and ACS Style
Liang, W.; Lam, W.P.; Tang, H.C.; Leung, P.C.; Yew, D.T. Current Evidence of Chinese Herbal Constituents with Effects on NMDA Receptor Blockade. Pharmaceuticals 2013, 6, 1039-1054. https://doi.org/10.3390/ph6081039
AMA Style
Liang W, Lam WP, Tang HC, Leung PC, Yew DT. Current Evidence of Chinese Herbal Constituents with Effects on NMDA Receptor Blockade. Pharmaceuticals. 2013; 6(8):1039-1054. https://doi.org/10.3390/ph6081039
Chicago/Turabian StyleLiang, Willmann; Lam, Wai P.; Tang, Hong C.; Leung, Ping C.; Yew, David T. 2013. "Current Evidence of Chinese Herbal Constituents with Effects on NMDA Receptor Blockade" Pharmaceuticals 6, no. 8: 1039-1054. https://doi.org/10.3390/ph6081039
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