Triticum vulgare extract exerts an anti-inflammatory action in two in vitro models of inflammation in microglial cells

PLoS One. 2018 Jun 14;13(6):e0197493. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0197493. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

Triticum vulgare has been extensively used in traditional medicine thanks to its properties of accelerating tissue repair. The specific extract of Triticum vulgare manufactured by Farmaceutici Damor (TVE-DAMOR) is already present in some pharmaceutical formulations used in the treatment of decubitus ulcers, skin lesions and burns. It has been recently suggested that this Triticum vulgare extract may possess potential anti-inflammatory properties. In the light of these premises the aim of the present paper was to verify the anti-inflammatory role of TVE, using the LPS-stimulated microglia model of inflammation. In particular the effect of different concentrations of TVE on the release of several mediators of inflammation such as nitric oxide, IL-6, PGE2 and TNF alpha was evaluated. More important, the anti-inflammatory effect of TVE was confirmed also in primary rat microglia cultures. The results of the present study show that TVE exerts anti-inflammatory properties since it reduces the release of all the evaluated markers of inflammation, such as NO, IL6, TNF alpha and PGE2 in LPS-activated BV2 microglial cells. Intriguingly, TVE reduced microglia activation and NO release also in primary microglia. Indeed, to verify the pathway of modulation of the inflammatory markers reported above, we found that TVE restores the cytoplasmic expression of p65 protein, kwown as specific marker associated with activation of inflammatory response. The evidence for an inhibitory activity on inflammation of this specific extract of Triticum vulgare may open the way to the possibility of a therapeutical use of the Triticum vulgare extract as an anti-inflammatory compound in certain pathological states such as burns, decubitus ulcers, folliculitis and inflammation of peripheral nerve.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Dinoprostone / genetics
  • Gene Expression Regulation / drug effects
  • Humans
  • Inflammation / chemically induced
  • Inflammation / drug therapy*
  • Inflammation / genetics
  • Inflammation / pathology
  • Interleukin-6 / genetics
  • Lipopolysaccharides / toxicity
  • Mice
  • Microglia / drug effects*
  • Microglia / pathology
  • Nitric Oxide / genetics
  • Plant Extracts / administration & dosage*
  • Plant Extracts / chemistry
  • Rats
  • Triticum / chemistry*
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / genetics
  • eIF-2 Kinase / genetics

Substances

  • Interleukin-6
  • Lipopolysaccharides
  • Plant Extracts
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
  • Nitric Oxide
  • eIF-2 Kinase
  • Dinoprostone

Grants and funding

Financial support from Ministero Istruzione e Ricerca (MIUR), Italy, under Grant DM285772006 and from Fondazione Italiana Sclerosi Multipla FISM 2012/R/1 to F.B is gratefully acknowledged. Damor Farmaceutici provided support in the form of salaries for authors ((MM and RR). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.