Synergistic Effectiveness of Curcuma longa and Safflower: Potent Anti-inflammatory and Immunomodulatory Effects
The immune system protects the host by generating an immune response against external stimuli such as pathogens or infections. The immune response is divided into innate and adaptive immunity. To maintain a healthy state, it is important to improve immune function, and a simple way to do this is by improving dietary habits.
This study examined the anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory efficacy of natural products, their mechanism of action, and their synergistic effects when combined.
Curcuma longa L., commonly known as turmeric, has been used for thousands of years in various countries, including India, to treat inflammations, infectious diseases, and stomach, liver, and blood disorders. Its main ingredients include curcumin, demethoxycurcumin, bisdemethoxycurcumin, and cyclocurcumin, with curcumin being the main active ingredient. Curcumin has antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory effects.
Carthamus tinctorius L., also known as safflower, belonging to the Asteraceae family, has antioxidant, anti-aging, neuroprotective, and vasodilatory effects. It contains active substances such as luteolin, apigenin, serotonin, and quercetin. Safflower seed oil has anti-inflammatory effects. However, the immunoregulatory effect of the combination of Curcuma longa L. and Carthamus tinctorius L. is unclear.
In this study, the synergistic anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects of these two natural products were examined. First, the anti-inflammatory effect on RAW 264.7 cells with inflammation induced by LPS was examined in an in vitro experiment. Subsequently, an ex vivo experiment was conducted to see if the anti-inflammatory effect observed in RAW 264.7 cells could also be observed in peritoneal cavity cells. Finally, immunosuppressed mice were used to determine the immunomodulatory effect of these two natural products.
RAW 264.7 macrophage cells were treated with various concentrations of Curcuma longa, safflower, and a combination of the two natural products to observe cell viability and nitric oxide production.
The results showed that all treatments inhibited nitric oxide production, with the turmeric + safflower treatment showing the strongest inhibitory effect.
Additionally, the expression levels of iNOS and COX-2 were more strongly downregulated by the turmeric + safflower treatment through the regulation of ERK 1/2 and p38 activation.
Furthermore, turmeric + safflower significantly increased the viability of peritoneal cavity cells, natural killer (NK) cell activity, and the expression of NK cell-related cytokines. All treatments (CLE, CTE, CLE + CTE) increased body weight and NK cell activity.
In summary, the results provide scientific evidence for the synergistic effect between Curcuma longa L. and Carthamus tinctorius L. as a co-treatment for anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects.
If your company wants to create or manufacture a product based on Curcuma Longa L. and Carthamus Tinctorius L.
Source: Yang-Gyu Park, Jeong-Hwi Cho, Jinyoung Choi, Eun-Myeong Ju, Gareeballah Osman Adam, Dae-Il Hwang, Ji-Hye Lee, So-Yul An, Ha-Kyoung Choi, Chung-Berm Park, Hong-Geun Oh, Immunomodulatory effects of Curcuma longa L. and Carthamus tinctorius L. on RAW 264.7 macrophages and cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppression C57BL/6 mouse models, Journal of Functional Foods, Volume 91, 2022, 105000, ISSN 1756-4646, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jff.2022.105000.
