Pharmacological Studies on the Anti-inflammatory Action of Phenolic Compounds

Abstract

The mechanism of the anti-inflammatory action of phenolic compounds was examined using neutrophil chemotaxis. Chemotactic activity of guinea pig peritoneal neutrophils to N-formylmethionyl-leucylphenylalanine (FMLP) was suppressed in a concentration-dependent manner. The order of drug potency in inhibiting the neutrophil chemotaxis was eugenol much greater than thymol greater than guaiacol much greater than phenol. The concentrations of phenolic compounds used in these experiments did not induce lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release and did not affect neutrophil viability. There was a consistent positive relation between the ID50 of superoxide anion generation in neutrophils and the inhibitory dose for neutrophil chemotaxis by phenolic compounds. A free phenolic hydroxyl group is essential for scavenging oxygen free-radicals and is also essential for inhibiting leukocyte chemotaxis, as was demonstrated in these experiments. These findings suggest that inhibition of leukocyte chemotaxis may be involved in the anti-inflammatory action of phenolic compounds, and that one of the anti-inflammatory actions of phenolic compounds is the prevention of the production of oxygen free-radicals by leukocytes.

Chemical composition and antioxidant activity of the essential oil ofThymbra capitata(L.) Cav. in Spain

“…The same is true of thymol (López Malo et al, 2005;Kim & Lee, 2004), which in addition has anti-inflammatory (Azuma et al, 1986) and antispasmodic (Astudillo et al, 2004) activities. The possibility that some artificial antioxidants (BHT, BHA) employed in the food and cosmetics industries to prevent the oxidation of fats and oils might have toxic effects, together with consumers' preference for natural products, has promoted research into many natural antioxidants, among them the essential oils of spices (Cuvelier et al, 1996).…”

Effects of phytogenic substances on growth performance, digestibility of nutrients, faecal noxious gas content, blood and milk characteristics and reproduction in sows and litter performance

“…The positive effect of dietary essential oils on sow health and production may be because of the effects of antioxidant (Aeschbach et al, 1994), antibacterial (Didry et al, 1994), antiphlogistic (Azuma et al, 1986), and antiinfl ammatory (Azuma et al, 1986) effects. Khajarern and Khajarern (2002) stated that carvacrol and thymol affected the mucosal membrane in the intestines and accelerated the renewal rate of enterocytes on the surface intestinal villi; this would reduce pathogen attachment to enterocytes and improve nutrient absorption capacity.…”

The anti-inflammatory effects of phenolic dental medicaments as determined by mouse ear edema assay.

“…It Significantly different from the control by Student's t-test, P<0.05. has been suggested that the anti-inflammatory activity of some drugs may be partly due to their ability to interfere with radical-mediated reactions. Azuma et al (8) reported that phenolic compounds inhibited neutrophil chemotaxis. They suggested that the preven tion of the production of oxygen free-radicals by inhibiting leukocyte chemotaxis with phenolic compounds is one mechanism of the anti-inflammatory action of such com pounds.…”