Therapeutic potentials of ononin with mechanistic insights: A comprehensive review

Ononin is a naturally occurring isoflavone glycoside generally found in various plants like soybeans, legumes, Chinese licorice, Mongolian milkvetch, kudzu, broccoli, and lupine. The compound has exhibited various therapeutic benefits in different laboratory tests. This study aims to evaluate pharmacological effects and biopharmaceutical features based on different clinical and preclinical studies and to assess the underlying mechanisms behind the effects against various deleterious diseases. For this, searching and collection of data were done (up to date as of October 07, 2023) in various reliable electronic databases, including PubMed/Medline, Scopus, Springer Link, ScienceDirect, Wiley Online, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. The findings exhibited beneficial effects against inflammation and a variety of diseases, such as neurodegenerative illnesses (Alzheimer's disease and cerebral I/R), viral and fungal infections (Influenza A and Candida albicans), diabetic nephropathy, osteoarthritis, obesity, and acute myocardial infraction (AMI). These beneficial effects are due to the antioxidant properties of the compound, which are capable of reducing ROS generation and the level of pro-inflammatory markers. The phytochemicals also demonstrated anticancer effects against various cancers, including breast, lung, orthotopic bone tumor, and laryngeal cancers. The compound exerted anticancer effects via cytotoxicity, an apoptotic effect by regulating the Bax/Bcl2 ratio, induction of oxidative stress, inhibition of proliferation, and metastasis through downregulating different cellular pathways such as the EGFR-Erk1/2, PI3K/Akt/mTOR, MEK/ERK, and JNK/ERK/p38 pathways. But the compound has poor oral bioavailability, resulting in low oral efficacy. Therefore, we suggest developing an alternative route and conducting extensive studies to understand the exact molecular mechanism, which will be more reliable for performing the next clinical trials to establish the lead as an efficacious therapeutic agent.