Piperlongumine: A Natural Alkamide with Multi-target Anti-inflammatory Mechanisms of Action

INTRODUCTION: Natural products are a rich source of bioactive compounds, which present attractive properties for preventing and treating diseases associated with inflammation. Piperlongumine, also known as piplartine, is an alkamide found in several types of peppers of the Piper genus, such as Piper longum. This metabolite is a versatile molecule with diverse pharmacological activities that has been used as a prototype in the synthesis of bioactive structural analogs. METHODS: Scientific articles published between 2015 and 2025 were retrieved from the databases PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect. Eligibility criteria included experimental studies in English that investigated the anti-inflammatory effects of piperlongumine. RESULTS/DISCUSSION: Current evidence indicates that piperlongumine can inhibit or modulate inflammatory responses, suggesting its pharmacological application in disease prevention and treatment, and the management of complications. CONCLUSION: This review describes recent advances in the anti-inflammatory activity of piperlongumine and its derivatives, providing evidence of their therapeutic potential across inflammatory conditions.