Zingerone, a major component found in ginger root, has been known as anti-mutagenic and anti-carcinogenic activities that are often associated with its anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory activities. In recent studies, we examined molecular mechanism of zingerone treatment on pro-inflammatory NF-kappaB activation via the redox-related NIK/IKK and MAPK pathways. Action mechanism of zingerone on NF-kappaB signaling was investigated in aged rat kidney and endothelial cells. The results showed that zingerone had not only the antioxidant effect by constitutive suppression of ROS, but also anti-inflammatory effects by suppression of nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB activation in aged rat. In addition, zingerone treatment suppressed gene activation of pro-inflammatory enzymes, COX-2 and iNOS, which were upregulated with aging through NF-kappaB activation and IKK/MAPK signaling pathway. These experiments strongly indicate that zingerone treatment exerts a beneficial efficacy by suppressing both oxidative stress and age-related inflammation through the modulation of several key pro-inflammatory genes and transcription factors. Thus, the significance of our findings is that the zingerone treatment may provide some preventive measure against chronic inflammatory conditions that underlie many age-related inflammatory diseases, such as metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, dementia, arthritis, diabetes, osteoprosis, and cancers.
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