The Effects of New Zealand Grown Ginseng Fractions on Cytokine Production from Human Monocytic THP-1 Cells.

Wei Chen,David G Popovich,Prabhu Balan

doi:10.3390/molecules26041158

Wei Chen, David G Popovich + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26041158

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Abstract

Pro-inflammatory cytokines and anti-inflammatory cytokines are important mediators that regulate the inflammatory response in inflammation-related diseases. The aim of this study is to evaluate different New Zealand (NZ)-grown ginseng fractions on the productions of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines in human monocytic THP-1 cells. Four NZ-grown ginseng fractions, including total ginseng extract (TGE), non-ginsenoside fraction extract (NGE), high-polar ginsenoside fraction extract (HPG), and less-polar ginsenoside fraction extract (LPG), were prepared and the ginsenoside compositions of extracts were analyzed by HPLC using 19 ginsenoside reference standards. The THP-1 cells were pre-treated with different concentrations of TGE, NGE, HPG, and LPG, and were then stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8), and anti-inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-10 (IL-10), and transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF-β1), were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). TGE at 400 µg/mL significantly inhibited LPS-induced TNF-α and IL-6 productions. NGE did not show any effects on inflammatory secretion except inhibited IL-6 production at a high dose. Furthermore, LPG displayed a stronger effect than HPG on inhibiting pro-inflammatory cytokine (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6) productions. Particularly, 100 µg/mL LPG not only significantly inhibited the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6, but also remarkably enhanced the production of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. NZ-grown ginseng exhibited anti-inflammatory effects in vitro, which is mainly attributed to ginsenoside fractions (particularly less-polar ginsenosides) rather than non-saponin fractions.

Highlights

Inflammation is a protective response of the human body to harmful stimuli, such as microbial infections and chemical toxins [1]
Compared to the profile of total ginseng extract (TGE), the ginsenoside composition of high-polar ginsenoside fraction extract (HPG) did not change after n-butanol liquid-liquid extraction; they displayed similar ginsenoside peaks, but the height and area of peaks increased after n-butanol liquid-liquid extraction (Figure 1C)
From the HPLC profile of less-polar ginsenoside fraction extract (LPG), we can see that the peaks of high-polar ginsenosides disappeared

Summary

Introduction

Inflammation is a protective response of the human body to harmful stimuli, such as microbial infections and chemical toxins [1]. It is a complex biological reaction involving coordinating signaling pathways and producing inflammatory cytokines and chemokines [2]. Cytokines are small extracellular proteins that act as mediators in the immune response. They regulate the inflammatory process through highly complex pathways [3]. It has already been reported that chronic low-grade inflammation and invigoration of the innate immune system are closely related to the pathogenesis of chronic diseases, such as diabetes [4], ageing [5], cancer [6], and cardiovascular disease [7]. Pro-inflammatory cytokines including interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and anti-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-10

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