Suppression of Inflammatory Mediators by Ethanol Extracts of Pennisetum purpureum S. (Napiergrass Taishigrass no. 2) in Activated RAW 264.7 Macrophages

Yue-Hwa Chen^{1, 2}, Yi-Han Wang¹, Yun-Ting Chen¹, Yuan-Yu Hou³, Sassy Bhawamai^{1, 4} and Yu-Wei Fang^{5, 6,}

¹School of Nutrition and Health Sciences, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan, ROC

²School of Food Safety, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan, ROC;Master Program in Food Safety, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan, ROC

³Department of Food and Beverage Management, Mackay Junior College of Medicine, Nursing and Management, Taipei 112, Taiwan, ROC

⁴CPF Food Research and Development Center Co., Ltd., Phranakhon Si Ayutthaya, Thailand

⁵Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital, Taipei 111, Taiwan, ROC

⁶Fu-Jen Catholic University, School of Medicine, Taipei 24205, Taiwan, ROC

Cite this paper:
Yue-Hwa Chen, Yi-Han Wang, Yun-Ting Chen, Yuan-Yu Hou, Sassy Bhawamai and Yu-Wei Fang. Suppression of Inflammatory Mediators by Ethanol Extracts of Pennisetum purpureum S. (Napiergrass Taishigrass no. 2) in Activated RAW 264.7 Macrophages. Journal of Food and Nutrition Research. 2020; 8(8):392-398. doi: 10.12691/jfnr-8-8-2

Abstract

Napiergrass Taishigrass no. 2 (NT2) is a new hybrid of napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum S.), and is commonly added as an ingredient in bioorganic energy soup, a plant-based drink which is thought to have health-promoting effects. Thus, NT2 is hypothesized to possess biological functions. In this study, we explored the effects of NT2 ethanol extracts on in vitro antioxidant activities and on modulation of immune mediators in RAW 264.7 macrophages. Results showed that ethanol extracts contained significant amount of polyphenols and chlorophylls, and possessed in vitro ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) antioxidative activities. The ethanol extracts did not show immunomodulatory activities in macrophages without lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 100 ng/ml) treatment, but significantly suppressed the LPS-stimulated production of inflammatory mediators, including nitric oxide (NO), interleukin (IL)-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and such effects were associated with decreased expression of inducible NO synthase (iNOS) protein and cluster of differentiation 14 (CD14) mRNA, suggesting that NT2 has anti-inflammatory activities. On the other hand, the extracts increased matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 activity, but showed no effects on Toll-like receptor (TLR) expression. In conclusion, ethanol extracts of NT2 possessed in vitro antioxidative activities and exhibited anti-inflammatory activities by decreasing NO, IL-6, and TNF-α production in association with decreased CD14 mRNA expression in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 macrophages, indicating its potential roles on health promotion and prentive effects against chronic diseases and such effects were and it’s in vitro antioxidant activities, suggesting its potential roles on health promotion.

Keywords:
napiergrass macrophage lipopolysaccharide (LPS) anti-inflammation antioxidation

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