An In Vitro Study Determining the anti-inflammatory activities of sinapinic acid-containing extracts generated from Irish rapeseed meal

Abstract

Sinapinic acid (SA) has been shown to possess various bioactive properties including anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory and histone deacetylase inhibitory activities. However, the amount obtained from our diet is insufficient to produce beneficial effects on health. Therefore, isolating this bioactive phenolic from a natural source, such as rapeseed meal, could generate extracts containing concentrated amounts of SA which could be consumed as a functional food ingredient to prevent health-related disease, particularly inflammation. Inflammation is a multi-faceted pathology, which plays a role in numerous diseases including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, arthritis and cancer. Current therapies such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) are associated with various adverse side effects, with the result being an increase in research aiming to identify natural compounds which possess anti-inflammatory activity. In this work, an in vitro study assessed the anti-inflammatory activities of two sinapinic acid-containing extracts on human-derived peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Both extracts were found to significantly reduce the levels of key pro-inflammatory cytokines including TNF-alpha, IL-12 and IL-6. Importantly, these extracts were found to be more potent than commercial SA in terms of their anti-inflammatory activities. Results demonstrate the potential of these extracts as anti-inflammatory agents.