Natural products: protective effects against sensorineural hearing loss

Hearing loss is one of the major public health problems in the world, which brings huge adverse effects to individuals and society. Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is responsible for the majority of hearing loss. Mechanisms contributing to SNHL include excessive accumulation of reactive oxygen species; over-activation of inflammatory factors; impaired blood micro-circulation in the inner ear or Ca²⁺ homeostasis imbalance, etc. Natural products (NPs), which have a long history of use in traditional medicine and a favorable safety profile, can be developed into a library of drug candidates for the treatment or prevention of SNHL. In this paper, we summarized 24 NPs to exhibit their preventive or therapeutic effects on cellular and animal models of SNHL in terms of their anti-apoptotic, anti-inflammatory, microcirculation-improving, and calcium antagonist effects, as well as 5 NPs in current clinical application. Further, combination with advanced technologies such as drug delivery systems and network pharmacology are applied to improve the research of NPs in the prevention of SNHL. Overall, this review provides a strong reference for the mining and development of NPs in the prevention and treatment of SNHL.