Anti-inflammatory properties of cinnamon polyphenols and their monomeric precursors

An increase in both the absolute number as well as relative proportion of the elderly is one of the most important developments facing human society in the next decades. Chronic inflammation is a contributing factor for many age-related diseases including neurodegenerative diseases, degenerative musculoskeletal diseases, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease. To date, pharmacotherapy of inflammatory conditions is based on the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), but they have serious side effects. This chapter introduces a variety of cinnamon species, and describe the anti-inflammatory properties of cinnamon extracts and their constituents. In addition, it will describe the chemical composition of the different cinnamon bioactives, and elucidate in detail their individual anti-inflammatory properties and try to explain the molecular mechanisms behind the anti-inflammatory action

Determination of anti-inflammatory activities of standardised preparations of plant- and mushroom-based foods

Purpose: Chronic inflammatory processes contribute to the pathogenesis of many age-related diseases. In search of anti-inflammatory foods, we have systematically screened a variety of common dietary plants and mushrooms for their anti-inflammatory activity. Methods: A selection of 115 samples was prepared by a generic food-compatible processing method involving heating. These products were tested for their anti-inflammatory activity in murine N11 microglia and RAW 264.7 macrophages, using nitric oxide (NO) and tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) as pro-inflammatory readouts. Results: Ten food samples including lime zest, English breakfast tea, honey-brown mushroom, button mushroom, oyster mushroom, cinnamon and cloves inhibited NO production in N11 microglia, with IC50 values below 0.5 mg/ml. The most active samples were onion, oregano and red sweet potato, exhibiting IC50 values below 0.1 mg/ml. When these ten food preparations were retested in RAW 264.7 macrophages, they all inhibited NO production similar to the results obtained in N11 microglia. In addition, English breakfast tea leaves, oyster mushroom, onion, cinnamon and button mushroom preparations suppressed TNF-α production, exhibiting IC50 values below 0.5 mg/ml in RAW 264.7 macrophages. Conclusion: In summary, anti-inflammatory activity in these food samples survived ‘cooking’. Provided that individual bioavailability allows active compounds to reach therapeutic levels in target tissues, these foods may be useful in limiting inflammation in a variety of age-related inflammatory diseases. Furthermore, these foods could be a source for the discovery of novel anti-inflammatory drugs

From classical taxonomy to genome and metabolome : towards comprehensive quality standards for medicinal herb raw materials and extracts

Fundamental to herbal medicine quality is the use of 'authentic' medicinal herb species. Species, however, 'represent more or less arbitrary and subjective man-made units'. Against this background, we discuss, with illustrative examples, the importance of defining species boundaries by accommodating both the fixed (shared) diagnostic and varying (within-species) traits in medicinal herb populations. We emphasize the role of taxonomy, floristic information and genomic profiling in authenticating medicinal herb species, in addition to the need to include within species phytochemical profile variations while developing herbal extract identification protocols. We outline the application of species-specific genomic and phytochemical markers, chemoprofiling and chemometrics as additional tools to develop qualifying herbal extract references. We list the diagnostic traits available subsequent to each step during the medicinal herb extract manufacturing process and delineate limits to qualification of extract references