Rehmannia glutinosa, the fresh or dried root of Rehmannia glutinosa (Gaertn.) Libosch. ex Fisch. & Mey., and Gardenia, the fruit of Gardenia jasminoides Ellis from Rubiaceae, both are famous traditional Chinese medicines that have been traditionally used in China. Catalpol and geniposide, as two kinds of iridoid glycosides with high activities, are the main bioactive components in Rehmannia glutinosa and Gardenia jasminoides Ellis, respectively. Over the past few decades, catalpol and geniposide have been widely studied for their therapeutic effects. The preclinical experiments demonstrated that they possessed significant neuroprotective activities against Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, stroke, and depression, etc. In this paper, the pharmacological effects and mechanisms of catalpol and geniposide on Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease from 2005 to now were systematically summarized and comprehensively analyzed. At the same time, the pharmacokinetic characteristics of the analyzed compounds were also described, hoping to provide some enlightenment for the design, research, and development of iridoid glycosides.
Keywords: Anti-Alzheimer’s disease; Anti-Parkinson’s disease; Catalpol; Geniposide; Mechanism; Pharmacokinetics.
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