The role of flavor and fragrance chemicals in TRPA1 (transient receptor potential cation channel, member A1) activity associated with allergies

TRPA1 has been proposed to be associated with diverse sensory allergic reactions, including thermal (cold) nociception, hearing and allergic inflammatory conditions. Some naturally occurring compounds are known to activate TRPA1 by forming a Michael addition product with a cysteine residue of TRPA1 through covalent protein modification and, in consequence, to cause allergic reactions. The anti-allergic property of TRPA1 agonists may be due to the activation and subsequent desensitization of TRPA1 expressed in sensory neurons. In this review, naturally occurring TRPA1 antagonists, such as camphor, 1,8-cineole, menthol, borneol, fenchyl alcohol and 2-methylisoborneol, and TRPA1 agonists, including thymol, carvacrol, 1’S-1’- acetoxychavicol acetate, cinnamaldehyde, α-n-hexyl cinnamic aldehyde and thymoquinone as well as isothiocyanates and sulfides are discussed

Identification and Quantification of Oxidoselina-1,3,7(11)-Trien-8-One and Cyanidin-3-Glucoside as One of the Major Volatile and Non-Volatile Low-Molecular-Weight Constituents in Pitanga Pulp.

The pulp of pitanga (Eugenia uniflora L.) is used to prepare pitanga juice. However, there are no reports on the identification and quantification of the main constituents in pitanga pulp. The aim of this study was to identify and quantify the major volatile and non-volatile low-molecular-weight constituents of the pulp. Isolation of volatile compounds was performed by solvent-assisted flavor evaporation technique. Characterization of the main volatile and non-volatile constituents was performed by GC-MS, LC-MS and NMR spectroscopy. For quantitative measurements, the main volatile compound needed to be isolated from pitanga pulp to obtain a commercially not available reference standard. Cyanidin-3-glucoside was determined as one of the most abundant non-volatile pulp compound yielding 53.8% of the sum of the intensities of all ions detected by LC-MS. Quantification of cyanidin-3-glucoside in pitanga pulp resulted in a concentration of 344 ± 66.4 μg/mL corresponding to 688 ± 133 μg/g dried pulp and 530 ± 102 μg/g fruit. For the volatile fraction, oxidoselina-1,3,7(11)-trien-8-one was identified as the main volatile pulp constituent (27.7% of the sum of the intensities of all ions detected by GC-MS), reaching a concentration of 89.0 ± 16.9 μg/mL corresponding to 1.34 ± 0.25 μg/g fresh pulp and 1.03 ± 0.19 μg/g fruit. The results provide quantitative evidence for the occurrence of an anthocyanin and an oxygenated sesquiterpene as one of the major volatile and non-volatile low-molecular-weight compounds in pitanga pulp

Identification of the non-volatile constituent, cyanidin-3-glucoside (A), in pitanga pulp.

<p>Total ion chromatogram of the pitanga pulp extract recorded in the LC-ESI (+) mode from m/z 100–1000 (B). Cyanidin-3-glucoside eluted at 20.8 min.</p

GC-MS spectrum of oxidoselina-1,3,7(11)-trien-8-one.

<p>GC-MS spectrum of oxidoselina-1,3,7(11)-trien-8-one.</p

Identification of the most abundant volatile constituent, oxidoselina-1,3,7(11)-trien-8-one (A), in pitanga pulp.

<p>Total ion chromatogram of the volatile-containing fraction of the pitanga pulp recorded by GC-MS in the range of m/z 35 to 300 (B).</p

Anti-inflammatory activity of rosemary extracts obtained by supercritical carbon dioxide enriched in carnosic acid and carnosol

The in vitro anti-inflammatory activity of supercritical rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) extracts (rosemary A and B) is been reported in this study. To achieve that, THP-1 macrophages were activated using lipopolysaccharide or human ox-LDL and secretion and gene expression of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-10 were evaluated, as well as COX-2 gene expression. Results indicated that both rosemary extracts (A & B) exhibit high anti-inflammatory activity although at a higher extent in case of rosemary B extract (5 μg mL-1), representing a higher quantity of carnosic acid and carnosol than rosemary A. When comparing the activity of the extract to the standard itself, the anti-inflammatory activity of standards of carnosic acid and carnosol was not as intense as that obtained with rosemary B. These data indicated that although carnosic acid content in the extracts is considered as the main anti-inflammatory compound, a synergistic interaction with other compounds may play a significant role in enhancing its activity. Results provided the grounds for possible increase in the application of supercritical rosemary extracts in food formulations for mitigation or prevention of inflammatory diseases. In this study the in vitro anti-inflammatory activity of supercritical rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) extracts is been reported. Results provided the grounds for increasing the applicability of supercritical rosemary extracts in formulations for the prevention of inflammatory diseases.Financial support from Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (CICYT) (Project: IPT-300000-2010-034) Ingredientes Saludables Mediterráneos Innovadores (INNSAMED) and Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid (ALIBIRD, project S-505/AGR-0153).Peer Reviewe