diAcCA, a Pro-Drug for Carnosic Acid That Activates the Nrf2 Transcriptional Pathway, Shows Efficacy in the 5xFAD Transgenic Mouse Model of Alzheimer’s Disease

The antioxidant/anti-inflammatory compound carnosic acid (CA) is a phenolic diterpene found in the herbs rosemary and sage. Upon activation, CA manifests electrophilic properties to stimulate the Nrf2 transcriptional pathway via reaction with Keap1. However, purified CA is readily oxidized and thus highly unstable. To develop CA as an Alzheimer's disease (AD) therapeutic, we synthesized pro-drug derivatives, among which the di-acetylated form (diAcCA) showed excellent drug-like properties. diAcCA converted to CA in the stomach prior to absorption into the bloodstream, and exhibited improved stability and bioavailability as well as comparable pharmacokinetics (PK) and efficacy to CA. To test the efficacy of diAcCA in AD transgenic mice, 5xFAD mice (or littermate controls) received the drug for 3 months, followed by behavioral and immunohistochemical studies. Notably, in addition to amyloid plaques and tau tangles, a hallmark of human AD is synapse loss, a major correlate to cognitive decline. The 5xFAD animals receiving diAcCA displayed synaptic rescue on immunohistochemical analysis accompanied by improved learning and memory in the water maze test. Treatment with diAcCA reduced astrocytic and microglial inflammation, amyloid plaque formation, and phospho-tau neuritic aggregates. In toxicity studies, diAcCA was as safe or safer than CA, which is listed by the FDA as "generally regarded as safe", indicating diAcCA is suitable for human clinical trials in AD.