Exploring the Mechanism of Bergamot Essential Oil against Asthma Based on Network Pharmacology and Experimental Verification

Abstract

Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease. Bergamot essential oil (BEO) is extracted from the bergamot peel, which is widely used as a medicinal and food plant in China. Modern pharmacological studies have confirmed that BEO has anti-inflammatory properties, suggesting potential in treating asthma. First, the main active ingredients of BEO were detected and analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Network pharmacology methods were used to explore the possible core targets and main pathways of BEO in asthma treatment. Then ovalbumin (OVA)-induced in vivo and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced in vitro models were established to investigate the antiasthmatic effects of BEO. BEO showed a good antiasthmatic effect by improving lung inflammation and inhibiting collagen deposition. Then, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) were used to explore the possible mechanism of BEO in asthma treatment. Furthermore, experimental verification showed that BEO could suppress the release of inflammatory factors in vitro and inhibit the activation of MAPK and JAK-STAT signaling pathways. This study demonstrated the anti-inflammatory effects of BEO against asthma. Moreover, it supplies a theoretical basis for the clinical application of BEO.

Bergamot Byproducts: A Sustainable Source to Counteract Inflammation

“…In the first case, BEO was able to suppress the release of inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-1β and TNF-α) and inhibited their gene expression ( Il6 , Il1b and Tnf-alpha ) in MH-S cells exposed to LPS. Here, it also hampered the activation of MAPKs and JAK-STAT signaling pathways and lowered the levels for key genes PTGS2 ( Ptgs2 ) and PPARα ( Ppara ) [ 70 ]. Again, recent insights into anti-inflammatory potential have emerged for bergapten, a psoralen present in BEO.…”

“…Of note, both BEO and bergapten were also shown to be effective on more complex models of respiratory inflammation such as the animal ones. In this line, the inhaling of BEO by ovalbumin-induced mice improved lung inflammation and airway narrowing, via the reduction in IL-4, IL-5, IL-13 (both at gene and protein levels), IL-6, IL-1β and TNF-α levels, and inhibited collagen deposition [ 70 ]. On the other hand, bergapten was able to ameliorate the inflammatory symptoms associated with combined allergic rhinitis and asthma syndrome (CARAS) in a mouse model.…”