NF-κβ signaling and chronic inflammatory diseases: exploring the potential of natural products to drive new therapeutic opportunities

•Chronic inflammation induced by NF-κβ plays a key role in multiple diseases.•Inhibiting NF-κβ could be an effective strategy given its upstream position.•Hydroxytyrosol is an olive polyphenol that inhibits NF-κβ activity.•Studies have reported its efficacy in diseases driven by inflammation and NF-κβ.•Hydroxytyrosol could emerge as a novel candidate for new anti-inflammatory drugs.

Chronic inflammation has a key role in the pathogenesis of multiple diseases that represent major public health and financial concerns, including heart failure (HF), Alzheimer's disease (AD) and arthritis. Nuclear factor kappa β (NF-κβ) is a central component of inflammation; owing to its upstream signaling position, it is considered an attractive target for new anti-inflammatory therapeutics. Hydroxytyrosol is an orally bioavailable polyphenol, obtained from olives, which inhibits NF-κβ activity and has elicited promising efficacy signals in several inflammatory diseases. Here, we further examine the role of NF-κβ in inflammation, provide an introduction to natural products and their anti-inflammatory effects and explore the potential of hydroxytyrosol as a new approach to combating the burden of chronic inflammatory diseases.