Abstract
Background
In this study, we summarized the preclinical investigations of the neuroprotective activities of Hibiscus sabdariffa (HSD) extract via its effect on memory function, neuroinflammation and oxidative damage in the central nervous system, which may help to guide future studies.
Methods
Preclinical studies that investigated the effect of HSD extract on memory impairment, neuroinflammation and oxidative stress-induced neuronal damage were searched systematically in PubMed, EBSCOhost (including MEDLINE, CINAHL, APA PsycInfo, etc.), Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus. Parameters and indexes included Morris water maze, passive avoidance test, acetylcholinesterase activity, interleukin 1 (IL-1), tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), MAPK, malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH), reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondria membrane potential (MMP).
Results
A total of 285 documents were identified; however, only ten articles were included and used for meta-analysis. The meta-analytic outcome revealed that HSD did not show any significant effect on memory function, neuroinflammatory biomarkers (IL-1, MAPK) and oxidative stress (GSH, MDA, ROS and MMP) in neuronal cells and tissues.
Conclusions
Individual study revealed that HSD showed improved memory function, attenuated neuroinflammation and prevented oxidative damage to neurons. However, a conflicting result was observed from the meta-analytic outcomes which showed that HSD has no significant effect on cognitive impairment, neuroinflammation and oxidative stress-induced neuronal damage. However the contradiction in this finding may be associated with small number of studies included. Hence, more studies on the memory-enhacing effects and anti-neuroinflammatory activity of HSD in preclinical and clinical model are required to validate its neuroprotective effect.
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Data availability
The raw data used in the study are included in the article and further inquiries can be made by contacting the frst author or corresponding author.
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TAO, TCE and KO contributed to manuscript drafting. TAO and TCE formulated the search strategy and TCE searched the databases. TAO and KO screened the articles and extracted the data. TCE interpreted the data and processed the pictures and tables in the manuscript KO, TCE and AOO provided constructive comments and revised the manuscript.
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Olasehinde, T.A., Ekundayo, T.C., Okaiyeto, K. et al. Hibiscus sabdariffa (Roselle) calyx: a systematic and meta-analytic review of memory-enhancing, anti-neuroinflammatory and antioxidative activities. Inflammopharmacol 31, 231–240 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10787-022-01101-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10787-022-01101-z