The mechanisms of natural products for eye disorders by targeting mitochondrial dysfunction

Front Pharmacol. 2024 Apr 25:15:1270073. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1270073. eCollection 2024.

Abstract

The human eye is susceptible to various disorders that affect its structure or function, including glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic retinopathy (DR). Mitochondrial dysfunction has been identified as a critical factor in the pathogenesis and progression of eye disorders, making it a potential therapeutic target in the clinic. Natural products have been used in traditional medicine for centuries and continue to play a significant role in modern drug development and clinical therapeutics. Recently, there has been a surge in research exploring the efficacy of natural products in treating eye disorders and their underlying physiological mechanisms. This review aims to discuss the involvement of mitochondrial dysfunction in eye disorders and summarize the recent advances in the application of natural products targeting mitochondria. In addition, we describe the future perspective and challenges in the development of mitochondria-targeting natural products.

Keywords: eye disorder; mitochondria; mitochondrial dysfunction; natural product; oxidative stress.

Publication types

  • Review

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (82060177), Jiangxi Province Natural Science Foundation (20224ACB206014), the Research Fund for Jiangxi Geriatric Clinical Medical Research Center (2020BCG74003) and The Key Science and Technology Innovation Project of Jiangxi Provincial Health Commission (2023ZD001).