Therapeutic potential of ginseng leaf extract in inhibiting mast cell-mediated allergic inflammation and atopic dermatitis-like skin inflammation in DNCB-treated mice

Front Pharmacol. 2024 May 22:15:1403285. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1403285. eCollection 2024.

Abstract

Ginseng leaves are known to contain high concentrations of bioactive compounds, such as ginsenosides, and have potential as a treatment for various conditions, including fungal infections, cancer, obesity, oxidative stress, and age-related diseases. This study assessed the impact of ginseng leaf extract (GLE) on mast cell-mediated allergic inflammation and atopic dermatitis (AD) in DNCB-treated mice. GLE reduced skin thickness and lymph node nodules and suppressed the expression and secretion of histamine and pro-inflammatory cytokines. It also significantly lowered the production of inflammatory response mediators including ROS, leukotriene C4 (LTC4), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). GLE inhibited the phosphorylation of MAPKs (ERK, P38, JNK) and the activation of NF-κB, which are both linked to inflammatory cytokine expression. We demonstrated that GLE's inhibitory effect on mast cell-mediated allergic inflammation is due to the blockade of the NF-κB and inflammasome pathways. Our findings suggest that GLE can be an effective therapeutic agent for mast-cell mediated and allergic inflammatory conditions.

Keywords: MAPK; NF-κB; anti-inflammatory; degranulation; ginseng leaf extract; inflammasome; pro-inflammatory cytokines.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by the Brain Research Program (NRF-2019M3C7A1032551, SC), by the Basic Science Research Program (NRF-2022R1A2C1012142, SC), and by the Basic Science Research Program (NRF-2022R1I1A1A01070134, J-MO) through the National Research Foundation funded by the Korean government.