Dept. of Environmental Medicine, Kochi Medical School, Kohasu, Oko, Nankoku, Kochi 783-8505, Japan.
J Food Sci. 2010 Apr;75(3):H87-92. doi: 10.1111/j.1750-3841.2010.01541.x.
Yuzu (Citrus junos Tanaka) has been used as a traditional medicine in Japan. We investigated in vitro anti-inflammatory effects of limonene from yuzu peel on human eosinophilic leukemia HL-60 clone 15 cells. To examine anti-inflammatory effects of limonene on the cells, we measured the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), nuclear factor (NF) kappa B, and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). We found that low concentration of limonene (7.34 mmol/L) inhibited the production of ROS for eotaxin-stimulated HL-60 clone 15 cells. 14.68 mmol/L concentration of limonene diminished MCP-1 production via NF-kappa B activation comparable to the addition of the proteasomal inhibitor MG132. In addition, it inhibited cell chemotaxis in a p38 MAPK dependent manner similar to the adding of SB203580. These results suggest that limonene may have potential anti-inflammatory efficacy for the treatment of bronchial asthma by inhibiting cytokines, ROS production, and inactivating eosinophil migration.
柚子（Citrus junos Tanaka）在日本被用作传统药物。我们研究了来自柚子皮的柠檬烯对人嗜酸性白血病 HL-60 细胞系 15 号细胞的体外抗炎作用。为了研究柠檬烯对细胞的抗炎作用，我们测量了活性氧（ROS）、单核细胞趋化蛋白-1（MCP-1）、核因子（NF）κB 和 p38 丝裂原激活蛋白激酶（MAPK）的水平。我们发现低浓度的柠檬烯（7.34mmol/L）抑制了 eotaxin 刺激的 HL-60 细胞系 15 号细胞的 ROS 产生。14.68mmol/L 浓度的柠檬烯通过 NF-κB 激活减少 MCP-1 的产生，与加入蛋白酶体抑制剂 MG132 相当。此外，它通过 p38 MAPK 抑制细胞趋化作用，类似于添加 SB203580。这些结果表明，柠檬烯通过抑制细胞因子、ROS 产生和抑制嗜酸性粒细胞迁移，可能具有治疗支气管哮喘的潜在抗炎作用。
