Catalpol is an iridoid glycoside found in Rehmannia glutinosa, which has neuroprotective, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antiviral effects[1, 2]. Catalpol can activate AMP-activated protein kinase to regulate lipid metabolism and reduce hepatic steatosis[3].
In vitro, Catalpol (1, 10, 100μM) treatment of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) for 24 h increased cell viability in a dose-dependent manner and reduced intracellular lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels and lipid peroxidation levels[4]. Catalpol (10μM) treatment of oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) promoted OPC proliferation, cell migration and differentiation into mature oligodendrocytes[5].
In vivo, Catalpol (5, 10, 20mg/kg) was intraperitoneally injected into gerbils with cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury for 3 days, which significantly improved the stroke index, significantly increased brain tissue SOD activity, reduced MDA content, and reduced plasma ET-1 content[6]. Catalpol (25-100mg/kg) was injected intraperitoneally into mice with renal ischemia-reperfusion injury, which reduced the blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine levels, the expression of PI3K, Akt and eNOS, and inhibited the activity of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-10[7].
References:
[1] Xia Y, Lu Y W, Hao R J, et al. Catalpol relieved angiotensin II-induced blood–brain barrier destruction via inhibiting the TLR4 pathway in brain endothelial cells[J]. Pharmaceutical Biology, 2022, 60(1): 2210-2218.
[2] Bai Y, Zhu R, Tian Y, et al. Catalpol in diabetes and its complications: a review of pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, and safety[J]. Molecules, 2019, 24(18): 3302.
[3] Tian X, Ru Q, Xiong Q, et al. Catalpol attenuates hepatic steatosis by regulating lipid metabolism via AMP‐activated protein kinase activation[J]. BioMed Research International, 2020, 2020(1): 6708061.
[4] Yang L, Feng X, Li Y, et al. Therapeutic efficacy of catalpol against apoptosis in cardiomyocytes derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells[J]. AMB Express, 2020, 10(1): 56.
[5] Yuan C X, Chu T, Liu L, et al. Catalpol induces oligodendrocyte precursor cell-mediated remyelination in vitro[J]. American Journal of Translational Research, 2015, 7(11): 2474.
[6] Liu Y, Li P, Suo J, et al. Catalpol provides protective effects against cerebral ischaemia/reperfusion injury in gerbils[J]. Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, 2014, 66(9): 1265-1270.
[7] Zhu J, Chen X, Wang H, et al. Catalpol protects mice against renal ischemia/reperfusion injury via suppressing PI3K/Akt-eNOS signaling and inflammation[J]. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, 2015, 8(2): 2038.
















