title: Antiasthmatic effects of onions: inhibition of 5-lipoxygenase and cyclooxygenase in vitro by thiosulfinates and "Cepaenes".
abstract: Nine thiosulfinates (TS) and four "Cepaenes" (CS) isolated from onions and/or synthetized by us showed dose dependent (0.25 to 100 microM) marked inhibitory effects on both cyclooxygenase (CA, tested on sheep seminal vesicle microsomes) and 5-lipoxygenase activity (LO, tested on porcine leukocytes). The following rank order of activity was observed: saturated aliphatic TS less than aromatic TS approximately alpha, beta-unsaturated TS less than CS. CS inhibited both CA and LO by more than 75% at 10 and 1 microM concentrations respectively. Most likely, these in vitro effects are responsible for antiinflammatory and antiasthmatic properties of onion extracts observed in vivo, at least in part.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians University, München, FRG.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Dorsch
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bayer
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Breu
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Willer
mesh_terms: D000490:Allium; D000818:Animals; D016718:Arachidonic Acid; D001095:Arachidonic Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D001249:Asthma / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016861:Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors; D004220:Disulfides / Q000494:pharmacology; D016859:Lipoxygenase Inhibitors; D008297:Male; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012756:Sheep; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D013441:Sulfinic Acids / Q000494:pharmacology; D013552:Swine
chemical_list: D001095:Arachidonic Acids; D016861:Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors; D004220:Disulfides; D016859:Lipoxygenase Inhibitors; D010936:Plant Extracts; D013441:Sulfinic Acids; D016718:Arachidonic Acid