An Integrated Approach to Recognize Potential Protective Effects of Culinary Herbs Against Chronic Diseases.

Secondary metabolites in plants have been of interest to humans for their wide variety of functions, including its use as dye, drugs, or perfumes. They are increasingly recognized as potential sources of new natural drugs and antibiotics. More recently, gut-associated microbes have been found to fulfill important functions in human health.

NF-κB-mediated anti-inflammatory activity of the sesquiterpene lactone 7-hydroxyfrullanolide.

Microarray technology can be used to study the molecular mechanisms of new chemical entities with the aim to develop effective therapeutics. 7-Hydroxyfrullanolide (7HF) is a sesquiterpene lactone that was found to be efficacious in multiple animal models of inflammation by suppression of pro-inflammatory cytokines; however, its molecular mechanism of action remains unclear. We investigated the effects of 7HF on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated human peripheral blood mononuclear cells using microarray-based gene expression studies and explored the molecular targets affected.

7-hydroxyfrullanolide, a sesquiterpene lactone, inhibits pro-inflammatory cytokine production from immune cells and is orally efficacious in animal models of inflammation.

A promising therapeutic approach to reduce pathological inflammation is to inhibit the increased production of pro-inflammatory cytokines (e.g., TNF-alpha, IL-6).