Aged Black Garlic Exerts Anti-Inflammatory Effects by Decreasing NO and Proinflammatory Cytokine Production with Less Cytoxicity in LPS-Stimulated RAW 264.7 Macrophages and LPS-Induced Septicemia Mice

Abstract

In this study, the anti-inflammatory and antisepticemic activities of a water extract of aged black garlic (AGE), which is not pungent, were compared with those of raw garlic extract (RGE). The methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay showed that AGE was not toxic up to 1000 μg/mL and was at least four times less cytotoxic than RGE. AGE significantly suppressed the production of nitric oxide (NO), tumor-necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and prostaglandin (PG)-E2 in a dose-dependent manner in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. Furthermore, the inhibitory effect of AGE on LPS-induced inflammation was confirmed by downregulation of inducible NO synthase and TNF-α mRNA expression, as well as cyclooxygenase-2 protein expression. The anti-inflammatory activities of AGE were similar to those of RGE at nontoxic concentrations up to 250 μg/mL. Signal transduction pathway studies further indicated that both garlic extracts inhibited activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase and nuclear factor-κB induced by LPS stimulation. Treatment with both AGE and RGE in an in vivo experiment of LPS-induced endotoxemia significantly reduced the level of TNF-α and interleukin-6 in serum and completely protected against LPS-induced lethal shock in C57BL/6 mice. The results suggest that AGE is a more promising nutraceutical or medicinal agent to prevent or cure inflammation-related diseases for safety aspects compared with RGE.

Formation, nutritional value, and enhancement of characteristic components in black garlic: A review for maximizing the goodness to humans

“…In vitro, ABG extracts also suppressed cell proliferation and cell cycle progression in TNF‐α‐activated human endometrial stromal cells via downregulating the expression of ICAM‐1 and VCAM‐1 and the secretion of IL‐6 due to the inhibition of the activation of NF‐κB, activator protein‐1 (AP‐1) transcription factors, ERK, and c‐Jun N‐terminal kinase activity (Kim, Park, et al., ). ABG extracts protected the C57BL/6 mice against LPS‐induced lethal shock through reducing significantly the levels of TNF‐α and IL‐6 in serum (Kim, Yoo, et al., ).…”

The Comparison of the Contents of Sugar, Amadori, and Heyns Compounds in Fresh and Black Garlic

“…The Maillard reaction may result in changes in the nutrient content, color, texture, taste, and flavor of garlic. Many studies have reported that black garlic has a wide range of health benefits, such as anticancer, antioxidant, antiallergic, hypocholesterolemic, and hepatoprotective activities, specifically because its antioxidant properties are stronger than fresh garlic (Kim and others , , , ; Noda and others ; Dong and others ; Yoo and others ).…”

Inhibition of ERK1/2 by silymarin in mouse mesangial cells

“…Because NO production by mesangial cells, macrophages, and pancreatic beta cells plays critical roles in the pathogenesis of diabetes and diabetic nephropathy, the protective role of silymarin against these conditions is likely due, at least in part, to an anti-inflammatory effect. In addition, silymarin protects pancreatic beta cells from pro-inflammatory-cytokine-induced NO production and cell death [2930]. Pro-inflammatory cytokines are known to induce the expression of iNOS mRNA and production of NO, resulting in death of beta cells [2627].…”