1. Anti-inflammatory activity of cinnamon (C. zeylanicum and C. cassia) extracts - identification of E-cinnamaldehyde and o-methoxy cinnamaldehyde as the most potent bioactive compounds.
- Author
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Gunawardena D, Karunaweera N, Lee S, van Der Kooy F, Harman DG, Raju R, Bennett L, Gyengesi E, Sucher NJ, and Münch G
- Subjects
- Acrolein analysis, Acrolein chemistry, Acrolein isolation & purification, Acrolein metabolism, Animals, Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal analysis, Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal chemistry, Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal metabolism, Cell Line, Cinnamomum aromaticum growth & development, Ethnopharmacology, Macrophage Activation, Macrophages immunology, Medicine, Traditional, Mice, Molecular Structure, Nitric Oxide antagonists & inhibitors, Nitric Oxide metabolism, Plant Bark chemistry, Plant Bark growth & development, Plant Extracts chemistry, Plant Extracts isolation & purification, Plant Extracts metabolism, Sri Lanka, Stereoisomerism, Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha antagonists & inhibitors, Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha metabolism, Acrolein analogs & derivatives, Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal isolation & purification, Cinnamomum aromaticum chemistry, Cinnamomum zeylanicum chemistry, Dietary Supplements analysis, Macrophages metabolism
- Abstract
Chronic inflammation is a contributing factor in many age-related diseases. In a previous study, we have shown that Sri Lankan cinnamon (C. zeylanicum) was one of the most potent anti-inflammatory foods out of 115 foods tested. However, knowledge about the exact nature of the anti-inflammatory compounds and their distribution in the two major cinnamon species used for human consumption is limited. The aim of this investigation was to determine the anti-inflammatory activity of C. zeylanicum and C. cassia and elucidate their main phytochemical compounds. When extracts were tested in LPS and IFN-γ activated RAW 264.7 macrophages, most of the anti-inflammatory activity, measured by down-regulation of nitric oxide and TNF-α production, was observed in the organic extracts. The most abundant compounds in these extracts were E-cinnamaldehyde and o-methoxycinnamaldehyde. The highest concentration of E-cinnamaldehyde was found in the DCM extract of C. zeylanicum or C. cassia (31 and 34 mg g(-1) of cinnamon, respectively). When these and other constituents were tested for their anti-inflammatory activity in RAW 264.7 and J774A.1 macrophages, the most potent compounds were E-cinnamaldehyde and o-methoxycinnamaldehyde, which exhibited IC₅₀ values for NO with RAW 264.7 cells of 55 ± 9 μM (7.3 ± 1.2 μg mL(-1)) and 35 ± 9 μM (5.7 ± 1.5 μg mL(-1)), respectively; and IC₅₀ values for TNF-α of 63 ± 9 μM (8.3 ± 1.2 μg mL(-1)) and 78 ± 16 μM (12.6 ± 2.6 μg mL(-1)), respectively. If therapeutic concentrations can be achieved in target tissues, cinnamon and its components may be useful in the treatment of age-related inflammatory conditions.
- Published
- 2015
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