Procyanidins for the treatment of Parkinson's disease and ischemic stroke

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the progressive degeneration of central nervous system structure and function. Ischemic stroke (IS) is the most common type of stroke, and its sequelae include neurodegeneration. The progressive degenerative changes are irreversible, and there are currently no effective treatments for neurodegeneration. Procyanidins, also known as proanthocyanidins, are natural compounds that can suppress oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and abnormal protein aggregation, thereby reducing the occurrence and development of IS and neurodegenerative diseases such as PD. We reviewed relevant in vitro, in vivo, and clinical literature in PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases from May 1998 to December 2024 using the key terms “procyanidins”, “proanthocyanidins”, “Parkinson's disease”, “ischemic stroke”, “oxidative stress”, “neuroinflammation” and“neurodegenerative disease”. We show that procyanidins represent potential new treatments or preventative strategies for PD and IS, as they target multiple implicated pathogenic pathways and can cross the blood-brain barrier.