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. 2023 Feb 13;14:1093038. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1093038

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Copyright © 2023 Chen, Ruan, Shi, Du and Bian.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

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Natural products regulate mitochondria in calcium buffering. Ca²⁺ enters mitochondria through the voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) in the outer mitochondrial membrane (OMM) and the mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU) channels in the inner mitochondrial membrane (IMM). Ca²⁺ exports from mitochondria towards the cytoplasm mainly through the Na⁺/Ca²⁺/Li⁺ exchanger (NCLX) and H⁺/Ca²⁺ exchanger (HCX). The driving force for mitochondrial Ca²⁺ mobilization is mediated by mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨ). Natural products such as kaempferol and β-sitosterol regulate mitochondria in calcium buffering in different manners. Kaempferol directly activates MCU to promote mitochondrial Ca²⁺ uptake, and β-sitosterol triggers the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and enhance Ca²⁺ calcium influx.