Abstract
Although juniper (Juniperus communis) berry essential oil (JEO) has been used in skin care products, research on its biological activity in human skin cells is scarce. In the current study, we explored the biological activity of JEO (with alpha-pinene as the major active component) in pre-inflamed human dermal fibroblasts, which were designed to mimic the disease biology of chronic inflammation and fibrosis. We analyzed the levels of 17 important protein biomarkers pertinent to inflammation and tissue remodeling. JEO exhibited robust antiproliferative activity and significantly inhibited the increased production of the proinflammatory chemokines interferon gamma-induced protein 10 (IP-10) and interferon-inducible T-cell alpha chemoattractant (I-TAC). Additionally, JEO significantly inhibited tissue remodeling biomarkers, namely collagen I, collagen III, and plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-I). Macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF), an immunomodulatory protein molecule, was also significantly downregulated by JEO. Moreover, we found that JEO robustly modulated global gene expression. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis also showed that JEO affected many important signaling pathways that are closely related to metabolism, inflammation, immune response, wound healing, and cancer biology. This study provides the first evidence of the biological activity of JEO in human dermal fibroblasts. Thus, JEO is a promising therapeutic candidate for inflammatory conditions in the skin.
Highlights
Juniper (Juniperus communis) berry essential oil (JEO) is traditionally used for flavoring and medicinal purposes
juniper berry essential oil (JEO) and its major active component alpha-pinene have been studied for antimicrobial, antifungal, antiproliferative, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer activities in a variety of settings (Bais, Gill, Rana, & Shandil, 2014)
In this study, we analyzed the activity of JEO in a dermal fibroblast cell system, HDF3CGF, which features the disease microenvironment of inflamed human skin cells with increased inflammatory and immune responses
Summary
Juniper (Juniperus communis) berry essential oil (JEO) is traditionally used for flavoring and medicinal purposes. JEO has gained increasing popularity for skin health purposes. A literature search conducted by us showed no published studies regarding the biological activity of JEO in human skin cells. We investigated the biological activity of a commercially available JEO in an in vitro human skin disease model. We studied the effect of JEO on the levels of 17 important biomarkers related to inflammation, immune response, and tissue remodeling processes. Using genome-wide analysis of the same cells, we studied the effect of JEO on the expression levels of 21,224 genes. The data provide important evidence of the biological activity of JEO in human dermal fibroblasts. This study may stimulate further research into the mechanisms of action, clinical safety, and efficacy of JEO
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