Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Sulfur-Containing Compounds from Garlic

Abstract

We identified four anti-inflammatory sulfur-containing compounds from garlic, and their chemical structures were identified as Z-and E-ajoene and oxidized sulfonyl derivatives of ajoene. The sulfur compounds inhibited the production of nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and the expression of the pro-inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factora, interleukin-1b, and interleukin-6 in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated macrophages. Western blotting and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis demonstrated that these sulfur compounds attenuated the LPS-induced expression of the inducible NO synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) proteins and mRNA. Moreover, these sulfurcontaining compounds suppressed the nuclear factor-jB (NF-jB) transcriptional activity and the degradation of inhibitoryjBa in LPS-activated macrophages. Furthermore, we observed that they markedly inhibited the LPS-induced phosphorylations of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases and extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK) at 20 lM. These data demonstrate that the sulfur compounds from garlic, (Z, E)-ajoene and their sulfonyl analogs, can suppress the LPS-induced production of NO/ PGE2 and the expression of iNOS/COX-2 genes by inhibiting the NF-jB activation and the phosphorylations of p38 and ERK. Taken together, these data show that Z-and E-ajoene and their sulfonyl analogs from garlic might have anti-inflammatory therapeutic potential.

1H‐NMR metabolomics for evaluating the protective effect of Clinacanthus nutans (Burm. f) Lindau water extract against nitric oxide production in LPS‐IFN‐γ activated RAW 264.7 macrophages

“…suggested that the aqueous ethanolic C. nutans extract that successfully isolated sulphur‐containing compounds (clinamide A, B, and C, 2‐ cis ‐entadamide A, and entadamide A and C) contained anti‐inflammatory properties based on superoxide anion production and an elastase release assessment. Additionally, Allium sativum or commonly known as garlic, has a long history of use worldwide for its culinary and therapeutic properties, such as anticancer, antioxidant and anti‐inflammation activities . The therapeutic function of garlic was well known to be dominated by its rich sulphur‐containing compounds and organosulphur content.…”

Garlic (Allium sativum) Stimulates Lipopolysaccharide‐induced Tumor Necrosis Factor‐alpha Production from J774A.1 Murine Macrophages

“…This same group also found that DADS and allicin at 100 μM reduced LPS‐induced TNF‐α levels (Keiss et al ., ). More recently, using RAW264.7 cells, Lee et al () showed that ajoene extracted from garlic inhibited the expression of TNF‐α mRNA (Lee et al ., ), and You et al () reported that diallyl trisulphide (DATS, 100 μM) inhibited several cytokines including TNF‐α (You et al ., ). Using RAW264.7 macrophages, Shin et al () found that raw garlic extracts decreased LPS (1 µg/mL)‐induced TNF‐α secretion but that allicin (1 µg/mL) had no effect on the production of this cytokine by LPS (Shin et al ., ).…”

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“…Lee et al 46 have studied the anti-inflammatory activity of four garlic constituents, i.e., Z-and Eajoene and oxidized sulfonyl derivatives of ajoene. According to their study, the sulfur compounds inhibited the production of nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E 2 (PGE 2 ) and the expression of the pro-inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β, and interleukin-6 in LPSactivated macrophages.…”