Author/Authors :
Allahmoradi, Esmaeil Student Research Committee - Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran , Taghiloo, Saeid Student Research Committee - Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran , Omrani-Nava, Versa Student Research Committee - Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran , Shobeiri, Saeideh Sadat Student Research Committee - Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran , Tehrani, Mohsen Department of Immunology - School of Medicine - Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran , Ebrahimzadeh, Mohammad Ali Student Research Committee - Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran , Asgarian-Omran, Hossein Department of Immunology - School of Medicine - Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran
Abstract :
Background: Portulaca oleracea, known as Purslane, is an annual growing herb with wide distribution around the world and traditionally
used to manage several diseases. Different therapeutic properties as an anti-fever agent as well as anti-inflammatory and analgesic
effects have been attributed to P. oleracea. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of P. oleracea aerial extract on
production of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs).
Methods: Aerial parts of P. oleracea (stems and leaves) were collected and extracted by percolation using methanol. The optimal
and non-cytotoxic dose of hydro-alcoholic extract for cell culture analysis was determined by MTT assay. To assess the antiinflammatory
effects of P. oleracea, PBMCs obtained from 12 normal volunteers were cultured in RPMI complete medium and cotreated
with E. coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and P. oleracea hydro-alcoholic extract. Following 18-hour incubation, culture supernatants
were harvested for measurement of secreted TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-10 by ELISA. Statistical analyses were performed using the
SPSS v.20, and data analyzed by Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis and post Hoc tests. P-values<0.05 were
considered significant.
Results: The optimal non-cytotoxic concentration of P. oleracea aerial extract was defined as 100 μg/ml based on MTT viability
assay. P. oleracea hydro-alcoholic extract significantly decreased the concentration of both pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and
IL-6 in LPS-stimulated PBMCs (p<0.001 and p<0.001, respectively). However, the concentration of IL-10 as an anti-inflammatory
cytokine, did not show any statistically significant change (p=0.390).
Conclusion: Our findings highlighted the potential anti-inflammatory properties of P. oleracea in herbal medicine. Future analysis
on different constituents of total extract may confirm its therapeutic effects as a promising anti-inflammatory compound.
Keywords :
Interleukin-10 , Interleukin-6 , Tumor necrosis factor-alpha , Anti-inflammatory agent , Portulaca oleracea
