title: Echinacea purpurea root extract inhibits TNF release in response to Pam3Csk4 in a phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase dependent manner.
abstract: Polysaccharides derived from Echinacea have historically been shown to be immunostimulatory. We describe in this work however the anti-inflammatory effect of a water extract of Echinacea purpurea roots (EPRW) that inhibited Pam3Csk4 stimulated production of TNFα by human monocytic THP-1 cells. The polyphenols and alkylamides typically found in Echinacea extracts were absent in EPRW suggesting that the anti-inflammatory component(s) was a polysaccharide. This anti-inflammatory activity was shown to be mediated by the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt signaling pathway as chemical inhibition of PI3K abolished the EPRW anti-inflammatory effect. Demonstration of phosphorylation of Akt and ribosomal S6 proteins, downstream targets of PI3K confirmed EPRW-mediated activation of this pathway. In conclusion, this observation suggests that non-alkylamide/non-polyphenolic phytochemicals from Echinacea may contribute in part to some of the anti-inflammatory therapeutic effects such as reduced severity of symptoms that have been observed in vivo in the treatment of upper respiratory tract infections with Echinacea.
authors.affiliation: Amway Corporation, 7575 Fulton St. East, Ada, MI 49355, USA. Electronic address: david.fast@amway.com.
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Fast
authors.affiliation: Nutrilite Health Institute, 5600 Beach Boulevard, Buena Park, CA 90622, USA.
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Balles
authors.affiliation: Amway Corporation, 7575 Fulton St. East, Ada, MI 49355, USA.
authors.forename: Jeffrey D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Scholten
authors.affiliation: Amway Corporation, 7575 Fulton St. East, Ada, MI 49355, USA.
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mulder
authors.affiliation: Amway Corporation, 7575 Fulton St. East, Ada, MI 49355, USA.
authors.forename: Jatinder
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rana
mesh_terms: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D002460:Cell Line; D020900:Echinacea / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D055666:Lipopeptides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009000:Monocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D058539:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase / Q000378:metabolism*; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000737:chemistry; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000378:metabolism; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000188:drug therapy; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000096:biosynthesis*
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D055666:Lipopeptides; C508075:Pam(3)CSK(4) peptide; D010936:Plant Extracts; C439524:TNF protein, human; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D058539:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt
keywords: Akt; Echinacea; PI3K; Pam(3)Csk(4); Polysaccharide; THP-1