title: Immunosuppressive Effect of Litsea cubeba L. Essential Oil on Dendritic Cell and Contact Hypersensitivity Responses.
abstract: Litsea cubeba L., also named as Makauy, is a traditional herb and has been used as cooking condiment or tea brewing to treat diseases for aborigines. The present study was undertaken to explore the chemical compositions of the fruit essential oil of L. cubeba (LCEO) and the immunomodulatory effect of LCEO on dendritic cells and mice. The LCEO was analyzed using gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) with direct injection (DI/GC) or headspace-solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME/GC). In total, 56 components were identified, of which 48 were detected by DI/GC and 49 were detected by HS-SPME/GC. The principal compounds were citral (neral and geranial). An immunosuppressive activity of LCEO was investigated with bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (DCs) which have a critical role to trigger the adaptive immunity. Additionally, the inhibitory effect of LCEO on immune response was elucidated by performing the contact hypersensitivity (CHS) responses in mice. Our results clearly showed that LCEO decreases the production of TNF-α and cytokine IL-12 in a dose-dependent manner in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated DCs. CHS response and the infiltrative T cells were inhibited in the tested ears of the mice co-treated with LCEO. We demonstrate, for the first time, that the LCEO mainly containing citral exhibits an immunosuppressive effect on DCs and mice, indicating that LCEO can potentially be applied in the treatment of CHS, inflammatory diseases, and autoimmune diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cosmeceutics, College of Biopharmaceutical and Food Sciences, China Medical University, No. 91, Hsueh-Shih Road, Taichung 40402, Taiwan. c0706@mail.cmu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Hsin-Chun
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Chinese Pharmaceutical Sciences and Chinese Medicine Resources, College of Biopharmaceutical and Food Sciences, China Medical University, No. 91, Hsueh-Shih Road, Taichung 40402, Taiwan. wtchang@mail.cmu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Wen-Te
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cosmeceutics, College of Biopharmaceutical and Food Sciences, China Medical University, No. 91, Hsueh-Shih Road, Taichung 40402, Taiwan. ychseu@mail.cmu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: You-Cheng
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Hseu
authors.affiliation: Department of Chinese Pharmaceutical Sciences and Chinese Medicine Resources, College of Biopharmaceutical and Food Sciences, China Medical University, No. 91, Hsueh-Shih Road, Taichung 40402, Taiwan. cappuccino2027@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Hsing-Yu
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Chinese Pharmaceutical Sciences and Chinese Medicine Resources, College of Biopharmaceutical and Food Sciences, China Medical University, No. 91, Hsueh-Shih Road, Taichung 40402, Taiwan. zhushaun920@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Cheng Hsuan
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Chuang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Technology, College of Life Science, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 402, Taiwan. lincc@dragon.nchu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Chi-Chen
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Chinese Pharmaceutical Sciences and Chinese Medicine Resources, College of Biopharmaceutical and Food Sciences, China Medical University, No. 91, Hsueh-Shih Road, Taichung 40402, Taiwan. leemengshiou@mail.cmu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Meng-Shiou
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Chinese Pharmaceutical Sciences and Chinese Medicine Resources, College of Biopharmaceutical and Food Sciences, China Medical University, No. 91, Hsueh-Shih Road, Taichung 40402, Taiwan. linmk@mail.cmu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Ming-Kuem
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000187:drug effects*; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D018664:Interleukin-12 / Q000378:metabolism; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology; D032862:Litsea / Q000737:chemistry*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D009822:Oils, Volatile; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D018664:Interleukin-12
keywords: Litsea cubeba; citral; dendritic cell; essential oil; immunosuppressive