Inhibitory Effects of Tagetes erecta L. in Neuroinflammation

초록

Background: To discover novel natural compounds for controlling neuroinflammatory responses, we screened a plant library from Southeast Asia and found African marigold (Tagetes erecta L.) as a candidate. Although the flowers and leaves of T. erecta have been used in traditional medicine for fever reduction, hemostasis, and antiseptic effects, their potential for alleviating neuroinflammation has not been examined scientifically. Methods and Results: T. erecta extract inhibited lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced interleukin (IL)-1β protein expression in murine BV2 microglial cells and in primary microglia. The mRNA expression levels of IL-1β, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) were dose-dependently reduced by T. erecta extract. Furthermore, the phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) was suppressed by T. erecta extract, indicating that T. erecta inhibited the expression of inflammatory mediators by inhibiting the transcriptional activation of STAT3 and NF-κB. Conclusions: Overall, our results demonstrate the potential of T. erecta to be developed as a therapeutic agent for treating neurodegenerative diseases by controlling excessive neuroinflammatory responses. © 2023, Korean Society of Medicinal Crop Science. All rights reserved.

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