On the Bioactivity of Echinacea purpurea Extracts to Modulate the Production of Inflammatory Mediators

Vieira, Sara F.; Gonçalves, Virgínia M. F.; Llaguno, Carmen P.; Macías, Felipe; Tiritan, Maria Elizabeth; Reis, Rui L.; Ferreira, Helena; Neves, Nuno M.

doi:10.3390/ijms232113616

Open AccessArticle

On the Bioactivity of Echinacea purpurea Extracts to Modulate the Production of Inflammatory Mediators

by

Sara F. Vieira

^1,2

,

Virgínia M. F. Gonçalves

^3,4

,

Carmen P. Llaguno

⁵,

Felipe Macías

⁵,

Maria Elizabeth Tiritan

^3,6,7

,

Rui L. Reis

^1,2

,

Helena Ferreira

^1,2,*

and

Nuno M. Neves

^1,2,*

¹

3B’s Research Group, I3Bs—Research Institute on Biomaterials, Biodegradables and Biomimetics, University of Minho, Headquarters of the European Institute of Excellence on Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, AvePark, Parque de Ciência e Tecnologia, Zona Industrial da Gandra, Barco, 4805-017 Guimarães, Portugal

²

ICVS/3B’s—PT Government Associate Laboratory, 4710-057 Braga/Guimarães, Portugal

³

TOXRUN—Toxicology Research Unit, University Institute of Health Sciences (IUCS), CESPU, CRL, 4585-116 Gandra, Portugal

⁴

UNIPRO—Oral Pathology and Rehabilitation Research Unit, University Institute of Health Sciences (IUCS), CESPU, CRL, 4585-116 Gandra, Portugal

⁵

Departamento de Edafoloxía e Química Agrícola, Facultade de Bioloxía, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain

⁶

Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR), University of Porto, Terminal de Cruzeiros do Porto de Leixões, Avenida General Norton de Matos, S/N, 4450-208 Matosinhos, Portugal

⁷

Laboratório de Química Orgânica e Farmacêutica, Departamento de Ciências Químicas, Faculdade de Farmácia da Universidade do Porto, Rua Jorge de Viterbo Ferreira 228, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(21), 13616; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms232113616

Submission received: 13 September 2022 / Revised: 25 October 2022 / Accepted: 4 November 2022 / Published: 6 November 2022

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Trends in Inflammation Management)

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Abstract

Inflammatory diseases are the focus of several clinical studies, due to limitations and serious side effects of available therapies. Plant-based drugs (e.g., salicylic acid, morphine) have become landmarks in the pharmaceutical field. Therefore, we investigated the immunomodulatory effects of flowers, leaves, and roots from Echinacea purpurea. Ethanolic (EE) and dichloromethanolic extracts (DE) were obtained using the Accelerated Solvent Extractor and aqueous extracts (AE) were prepared under stirring. Their chemical fingerprint was evaluated by liquid chromatography–high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS). The pro- and anti-inflammatory effects, as well as the reduction in intracellular reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS/RNS), of the different extracts were evaluated using non-stimulated and lipopolysaccharide-stimulated macrophages. Interestingly, AE were able to stimulate macrophages to produce pro-inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor -TNF-α, interleukin -IL-1β, and IL-6), and to generate ROS/RNS. Conversely, under an inflammatory scenario, all extracts reduced the amount of pro-inflammatory mediators. DE, alkylamides-enriched extracts, showed the strongest anti-inflammatory activity. Moreover, E. purpurea extracts demonstrated generally a more robust anti-inflammatory activity than clinically used anti-inflammatory drugs (dexamethasone, diclofenac, salicylic acid, and celecoxib). Therefore, E. purpurea extracts may be used to develop new effective therapeutic formulations for disorders in which the immune system is either overactive or impaired.

Keywords: Echinacea purpurea extracts; inflammation; pro-inflammatory cytokines; reactive oxygen and nitrogen species; macrophages; alkylamides; phenols/acids

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MDPI and ACS Style

Vieira, S.F.; Gonçalves, V.M.F.; Llaguno, C.P.; Macías, F.; Tiritan, M.E.; Reis, R.L.; Ferreira, H.; Neves, N.M. On the Bioactivity of Echinacea purpurea Extracts to Modulate the Production of Inflammatory Mediators. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23, 13616. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms232113616

AMA Style

Vieira SF, Gonçalves VMF, Llaguno CP, Macías F, Tiritan ME, Reis RL, Ferreira H, Neves NM. On the Bioactivity of Echinacea purpurea Extracts to Modulate the Production of Inflammatory Mediators. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2022; 23(21):13616. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms232113616

Chicago/Turabian Style

Vieira, Sara F., Virgínia M. F. Gonçalves, Carmen P. Llaguno, Felipe Macías, Maria Elizabeth Tiritan, Rui L. Reis, Helena Ferreira, and Nuno M. Neves. 2022. "On the Bioactivity of Echinacea purpurea Extracts to Modulate the Production of Inflammatory Mediators" International Journal of Molecular Sciences 23, no. 21: 13616. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms232113616

APA Style

Vieira, S. F., Gonçalves, V. M. F., Llaguno, C. P., Macías, F., Tiritan, M. E., Reis, R. L., Ferreira, H., & Neves, N. M. (2022). On the Bioactivity of Echinacea purpurea Extracts to Modulate the Production of Inflammatory Mediators. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 23(21), 13616. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms232113616

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On the Bioactivity of Echinacea purpurea Extracts to Modulate the Production of Inflammatory Mediators

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