Title:Molecular Targets of Valeric Acid: A Bioactive Natural Product for
Endocrine, Metabolic, and Immunological Disorders
Volume: 24
Issue: 13
Author(s): Bindu Kumari, Usha Kumari, Dhananjay Kumar Singh, Gulam Mohammed Husain, Dinesh Kumar Patel, Anshul Shakya, Ravi Bhushan Singh, Gyan Prakash Modi and Gireesh Kumar Singh*
Affiliation:
- Department of Pharmacy, Central University of South Bihar, Gaya-824236, Bihar, India
Keywords:
Postbiotics, valeric acid, valerian, short chain fatty acids, HDAC inhibitor, gut-microbiota, metabolic syndrome, immunomodulator.
Abstract:
Backgrounds: Postbiotics produced by gut microbiota have exhibited diverse pharmacological
activities. Valeric acid, a postbiotic material produced by gut microbiota and some
plant species like valerian, has been explored to have diverse pharmacological activities.
Methods: This narrative review aims to summarise the beneficial role of valeric acid for different
health conditions along with its underlying mechanism. In order to get ample scientific evidence,
various databases like Science Direct, PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar and Google
were exhaustively explored to collect relevant information. Collected data were arranged and
analyzed to reach a meaningful conclusion regarding the bioactivity profiling of valeric acid, its
mechanism, and future prospects.
Results: Valeric acid belongs to short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) compounds like acetate, propionate,
butyrate, pentanoic (valeric) acid, and hexanoic (caproic) acid. Valeric acid has been
identified as one of the potent histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors. In different preclinical in
-vitro and in-vivo studies, valeric acid has been found to have anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, antihypertensive,
anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory activity and affects molecular pathways
of different diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and epilepsy.
Conclusion: These findings highlight the role of valeric acid as a potential novel therapeutic
agent for endocrine, metabolic and immunity-related health conditions, and it must be tested
under clinical conditions to develop as a promising drug.