Abstract
Neutrophils play a crucial role in providing protection against intracellular pathogens, such as viruses and mycobacteria, but also in regulating systemic anaphylaxis or allergic skin reactions. Neutrophils intimately shape the adaptive immune response at various levels, including the B cells, dendritic cells, and T cell populations. In pharmacy, significant attention is given to the search for natural substances that can affect the immune system and neutrophil function with less adverse side effects. The phytoconstituents, such as polysaccharides, polyphenols, or terpenes, may serve as good candidates. Previously, we evaluated the anti-inflammatory activities of various plant extracts of the Iridaceae family and identified extracts of Iris spp. rhizomes and Crocus sativum corms as promising anti-neutrophilic agents. The current study further extends this analysis of various groups of biologically active substances found in extracts from Ukrainian plants. The tested samples include polysaccharide complexes of Crocus flowers and corms, Juno leaves and corms, Iris leaves and rhizomes, and Chamaenerion leaves, as well as water and ethanolic extracts from Chamaenerion leaves. Using fMLF/CB-induced superoxide anion generation and elastase release assays applied to human neutrophils, the C. angustifolium ethanolic (50%, vol/vol) and water extracts almost completely inhibited the fMLF/CB-induced elastase release at 10 μg/mL (IC50 2.8–4.1 μg/mL). Interestingly, the Iris leaf polysaccharide extract also inhibited elastase release by 39.0% (10 μg/mL), while the C. angustifolium polysaccharides extract inhibited the superoxide by 45.5% (10 μg/mL). This suggests that phenolic compounds may possess a better activity in comparison with polysaccharides. The present study provided primary pharmacological evidence for anti-inflammatory agents derived from C. angustifolium.
Supplementary Materials
The following are available online at https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/ECMC2022-13651/s1.
Author Contributions
O.M. and M.K.—conceived and designed the study; V.G. and T.-L.H.—funding acquisition; O.M., M.K., L.I. and F.-R.C.—chemistry and pharmacology investigation; O.M., K.U. and M.K.—data analysis and interpretation; O.M. and M.K.—writing: original draft; V.G., M.E.-S. and T.-L.H.—writing: review and editing.; V.G. and T.-L.H.—supervision. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding
This research was supported by grants from the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan (MOST 111-2321-B-182-001, MOST 111-2320-B-037-007, MOST 109-2320-B-650-001-MY3, MOST 108-2320-B-255-003-MY3, and MOST 109-2327-B-255-001), Chang Gung University of Science and Technology (ZRRPF3L0091), and Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (CMRPF1J0051~3, CORPF1L0011, CMRPF1L0071, and BMRP450). The funders had no role in the study design, data collection, analyses, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Institutional Review Board Statement
The study was conducted according to the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki, and ap-proved by the Institutional Review Board of Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (Registration number: IRB 100 1278C).
Informed Consent Statement
Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.
Data Availability Statement
This research contains only supporting Material information.
Acknowledgments
The authors are thankful for the financial support provided by the Chang Gung University. The authors would like to thank the Center for Research Resources and Development, Kaohsiung Medical University, for providing instrumentation support.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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