Title:Cucurbitacins and the Immune System: Update in Research on Anti-
inflammatory, Antioxidant, and Immunomodulatory Mechanisms
Volume: 29
Issue: 21
关键词:
葫芦素、细胞因子、巨噬细胞、COX-2、葫芦素B、葫芦素E、NF-κB、淋巴细胞。
摘要: Cucurbitacins are a wide group of natural products found in several plant families,
especially in the Cucurbitaceae family. In the last decade, there has been a significant
increase in studies aimed at identifying new biological activities of cucurbitacins
and describing their mechanisms of action. The most researched pharmacological activities
are antineoplastic and anti-inflammatory activity, the first being recently reviewed.
The present review explains the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and immunomodulatory
potential of cucurbitacins, identifying the most studied compounds in this area and exploring
their mechanisms of action already studied. A brief report was made about the
main structural characteristics of cucurbitacins, in addition to an update on the biological
activities attributed to this class in the last 5 years. Cucurbitacin B and cucurbitacin E
have been identified as the most investigated when it comes to the immune response,
playing roles in both innate and adaptive immunity. The most cited mechanisms were inhibition
of COX-2 and NOS, reduction of oxidative stress, suppression of proinflammatory
cytokines and modulation of acquired immunity proteins. It was found that cucurbitacins
are promising molecules in the search for therapeutic innovation and have wide
versatility in the immune response.
