Characterizing Eckol as a Therapeutic Aid: A Systematic Review

Manandhar, Bandana; Paudel, Pradeep; Seong, Su Hui; Jung, Hyun Ah; Choi, Jae Sue

Numerous efforts to establish natural biomarkers for the treatment of various ailments have improved our understanding of their functions and activity. Considering the diversity of natural biomarkers such as eckol, a definite push is required to further decode these kinds of compounds for their proper use. Eckol exhibiting several biological activities is extraordinary, particularly the involvement of eckol as an anti-oxidant, anti-diabetic, radioprotective, hepatoprotective, and anti-inflammatory agent to name some. The use of eckol as anti-hair loss and anti-hearing loss is a refreshing new discovery. Increasing the scope of eckol as a neuroprotective agent by evaluating it against G protein coupled dopamine receptors is also a novel exploration for the treatment of major neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Thus, introducing eckol to various new receptors related to different diseases, other than the usual ones, could be of great interest. Since eckol exhibits activity against life-threatening disease like cancer, further research in this particular field also holds great potential for eckol to be established as an anti-cancer agent. The major reason for the broad spectrum of activity related to eckol is possibly due to its structure. Even the other potent phlorotannins of the same family have a basic backbone of eckol. So, developing eckol as a single pharmaceutical product could be beneficial in the field of medicine. Hence, natural product-derived compounds hold a multitude of opportunities for the discovery of novel therapeutic agents. The shift in focus from synthetically developed agents to natural agents could be a stepping stone for further advancements in the treatment of various infirmities. In conclusion, these kinds of naturally derived drugs have immense potential for advancement in the pharmaceutical and medical fields, leading to a definite change in views.