Momordica charantia extracts obtained by ultrasound-assisted extraction inhibit the inflammatory pathways

Abstract

Background Momordica charantia is a member of the Cucurbitaceae family and has traditionally been used for medical nutritional therapy to cure diabetes, and its various biological properties have been reported. However, several studies have demonstrated that M. charantia may exert toxic or adverse effects under different conditions. In this study, we prepared an M. charantia extract using ultrasound-assisted extraction, which is a green technology, and verified its anti-inflammatory effects. Objectives The aim of this study was to investigate the anti-inflammatory effects of M. charantia extract using ultrasound-assisted extraction in LPS-induced Raw264.7 macrophages and explore the potential mechanism mediated by the MAPK/NF-κB signaling pathway. Results We found that the M. charantia extract was non-toxic up to a concentration of 500 μg/mL in Raw264.7 cells. We verified that treatment with M. charantia extract significantly reduced the production of nitric oxide and proinflammatory cytokines, including TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-2, and IL-6, in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. Moreover, the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 was dramatically increased by treatment with the M. charantia extract. In addition, the phosphorylation of the transcription factor NF-κB, which modulates the production of inflammatory proteins, including JNK, ERK, and p38, was reduced by downregulation of the MAPK signaling pathway. Conclusion These results indicate that the M. charantia extract collected using an industrial ultrasonic system is non-toxic and has an anti-inflammatory effect through regulation of the NF-κB and MAPK pathways, suggesting that it can act as a therapeutic candidate for the treatment of inflammatory diseases.

Ziziphus jujuba Miller Ethanol Extract Restores Disrupted Intestinal Barrier Function via Tight Junction Recovery and Reduces Inflammation

“…CCL5 and CCL17 are known to be increased under inflammatory responses; it is also known that an increase in inflammatory chemokines promotes IL-2 expression [46,47]. IL-2 is a critical pro-inflammatory factor because it promotes the expansion of T cells, the enhancement of natural killer (NK) cells, and the strengthening of the anti-tumor immune response [48]. In this study, we observed an up-regulation of inflammatory mediators, including IL-2; TNF-α, CCL5, and CCL17 mRNA expression; and iNOS and COX-2 protein expression in IL-6-treated Caco2 cells.…”

Anti-melanogenic effect of Moju through inhibition of tyrosinase activity

“…Murine melanoma B16F10 and human embryonic kidney 293 T (HEK293T) cells were obtained from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC, Manassas, VA, USA) and cultured as previously described (Kim et al 2022). In brief, the cells were cultured in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM) (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA, USA) with 10% heat-inactivated fetal bovine serum (FBS) (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA, USA) and penicillin/streptomycin (100 U/mL) (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA, USA) at 37 °C under a humidified atmosphere containing 5% CO 2 .…”

“…Whole-cell lysates of the cultured cells were obtained and separated using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), and Western blot analysis was performed as described previously (Kim et al 2022). The primary and secondary antibodies used for the Western blot analyses were purchased from Cell Signaling Technology Inc. (Beverly, MA, USA).…”