BackgroundCapparis Spinosa L. is an aromatic plant growing wild in dry regions around the Mediterranean basin. Capparis Spinosa was shown to possess several properties such as antioxidant, antifungal, and anti-hepatotoxic actions. In this work, we aimed to evaluate immunomodulatory properties of Capparis Spinosa leaf extracts in vitro on human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from healthy individuals.ResultsUsing MTT assay, we identified a range of Capparis Spinosa doses, which were not toxic. Unexpectedly, we found out that Capparis Spinosa aqueous fraction exhibited an increase in cell metabolic activity, even though similar doses did not affect cell proliferation as shown by CFSE. Interestingly, Capparis Spinosa aqueous fraction appeared to induce an overall anti-inflammatory response through significant inhibition of IL-17 and induction of IL-4 gene expression when PBMCs were treated with the non toxic doses of 100 and/or 500 μg/ml. Phytoscreening analysis of the used Capparis Spinosa preparations showed that these contain tannins; sterols, alkaloids; polyphenols and flavonoids. Surprisingly, quantification assays showed that our Capparis Spinosa preparation contains low amounts of polyphenols relative to Capparis Spinosa used in other studies. This Capparis Spinosa also appeared to act as a weaker scavenging free radical agent as evidenced by DPPH radical scavenging test. Finally, polyphenolic compounds including catechin, caffeic acid, syringic acid, rutin and ferulic acid were identified by HPLC, in the Capparis spinosa preparation.ConclusionAltogether, these findings suggest that our Capparis Spinosa preparation contains interesting compounds, which could be used to suppress IL-17 and to enhance IL-4 gene expression in certain inflammatory situations. Other studies are underway in order to identify the compound(s) underlying this effect.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12865-016-0164-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Air-dried aerial parts of wild Ormenis mixta were collected from five different regions of Morocco (Kenitra, Tamesna, Sidi allal lbahraoui, Settat and Benguerir) during 2011. The essential oil obtained separately from the leaves and flowers of O.mixta has been extracted by Clevenger apparatus and analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The flowers gave the most important yield in all the regions. The yield obtained varies greatly with a range of 0.83 to 1.67 % for flowers and 0,56 to 0,86 % for leaves. Significant differences were found in the chemical composition of leaves and flowers. The main components of flowers were camphor (14,4-29 %), trans-β-farnesene (8.3 %) and 2-tridecanone (21.5 %). For the leaves, the major components were trans-nerolidol (44.1 %), β-myrcene (12.4 %) and camphor (11-33 %). Cluster analysis of the essential oil composition from the five populations studied confirmed a major chemical variability.
BackgroundAllium sativum L. (A.S.) “garlic”, one of the most interesting medicinal plants, has been suggested to contain compounds that could be beneficial in numerous pathological situations including cancer. In this work, we aimed to assess the immunomodulatory effect of A.S. preparation on human peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy individuals.MethodsNontoxic doses of A.S. were identified using MTT assay. Effects on CD4+ or CD8+ T lymphocyte proliferation were studied using flow cytometry. The effect of A.S. on cytokine gene expression was studied using qRT-PCR. Finally, qualitative analysis of A.S. was performed by HPLC approach. Data were analyzed statistically by one-way ANOVA test.ResultsThe nontoxic doses of A.S. preparation did not affect neither spontaneous nor TCR-mediated CD4+ or CD8+ T lymphocyte proliferation. Interestingly, A.S. exhibited a statistically significant regulation of IL-17 gene expression, a cytokine involved in several inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. In contrast, the expression of IL-4, an anti-inflammatory cytokine, was unaffected. Qualitative analysis of A.S. ethanol preparation indicated the presence of three polyphenol bioactive compounds, which are catechin, vanillic acid and ferulic acid.ConclusionThe specific inhibition of the pro-inflammatory cytokine, IL-17 without affecting cell proliferation in human PBMCs by the Allium sativum L. preparation suggests a potential valuable effect of the compounds present in this plant for the treatment of inflammatory diseases and cancer, where IL-17 is highly expressed. The individual contribution of these three compounds to this global effect will be assessed.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12906-016-1365-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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