Summative interaction between astaxanthin, Ginkgo biloba extract (EGb761) and vitamin C in Suppression of respiratory inflammation: a comparison with ibuprofen

Abstract

In this study, combinations of Ginkgo biloba leaf extract (EGb761) plus the carotenoid antioxidant astaxanthin (ASX) and vitamin C were evaluated for a summative dose effect in the inhibition of asthma‐associated inflammation in asthmatic guinea‐pigs. Ovalbumin‐sensitized Hartley guinea‐pigs challenged with ovalbumin aerosol to induce asthma, were administered EGb761, ASX, vitamin C or ibuprofen. Following killing, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid was evaluated for inflammatory cell infiltrates and lung tissue cyclic nucleotide content. Each parameter measured was significantly altered to a greater degree by drug combinations, than by each component acting independently. An optimal combination was identified that included astaxanthin (10 mg/kg), vitamin C (200 mg/kg) and EGb761 (10 mg/kg), resulting in counts of eosinophils and neutrophils each 1.6‐fold lower; macrophages 1.8‐fold lower, cAMP 1.4‐fold higher; and cGMP 2.04‐fold higher than levels in untreated, asthmatic animals (p < 0.05). In conclusion, EGb761, ASX and vitamin C are shown here to interact summatively to suppress inflammation with efficacy equal to or better than ibuprofen, a widely used non‐steroidal antiinflammatory drug (NSAID). Such combinations of non‐toxic phytochemicals constitute powerful tools for the prevention of onset of acute and chronic inflammatory disease if consumed regularly by healthy individuals; and may also augment the effectiveness of therapy for those with established illness. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Anti-inflammatory activity and modulate oxidative stress of Bucida buceras in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages and Carrageenan-induced acute paw edema in rats

“…Increased levels of NO, TNF, IL-1β and IL-6 from macrophages is a major feature of the pathophysiological manifestation of the inflammatory processes involved various diseases (Mueller et al, 2010;Haines et al, 2010;Pallarès et al, 2013). In the interaction with macrophages, LPS induces a variety of intracellular signaling cascades leading to the release of mediators pro-inflammatory (Salvemini et al, 1993).…”

“…However anti-inflammatory drugs rarely cure these processes and long-term treatments are often limited by drug cost and toxicity. Many phytochemicals widely distributed in human diet and medicinal plants have anti-inflammatory properties (Arts and Hollman, 2005;Haines et al, 2010;Pallarès et al, 2013;Yeh et al, 2014).…”

“…Besides, ROS extend inflammation by promoting release of cytokines such as IL-1, TNF-α and INF-γ, which stimulate additional production of free radicals. As a result ROS are important mediators that lead or maintain inflammatory processes and, consequently, their neutralization by antioxidants and radical scavengers can attenuate inflammation (McCarty, 2004(McCarty, , 2011Haines et al, 2010;Bian et al, 2012Bian et al, , 2013Yeh et al, 2014).…”

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“…It was reported that that ginkgolide B, astaxanthin, or their combination could suppress activation of T cells from asthma patients 68 . In the recent experiment,Haines et al, 69 showed that the asthmatic animals fed astaxanthin, Ginkgo biloba extract and vitamin C alone or in combination exhibited significantly lower bronchoalveolar lavage fluid inflammatory cell numbers and enhancement of lung tissue content of cAMP and cGMP, and the efficacy was equal to or better than ibuprofen, a widely used nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug.…”

Amelioration of human osteoarthritis symptoms with topical ‘biotherapeutics’: a phase I human trial

“…Their activity specifically inhibits major OA-associated degenerative tissue remodeling, rather than temporarily abating pain. Interference with inflammatory signaling cascades is the mode of action for most small molecule drug-based OA countermeasures and is also a major contributor to drug toxicity (Morse and Choi 2002;Haines et al 2011Haines et al , 2014. For these reasons, therapeutic strategies which avoid interference with physiologic signaling and instead augment naturally occurring immunoregulatory mechanisms offer potent abatement of symptoms with greatly reduced risk of adverse side effects.…”