Sesquiterpenoid is a kind of compound widely distributed in nature, which has a wide range of biological activities, such as anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor and immunomodulatory activities. This paper would review the anti-inflammatory mechanism of sesquiterpenoid. The mechanism is mainly by inhibiting the activation of nuclear factor (NF-κB), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPKs) and signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT) signaling pathways and down-regulating the inflammatory gene expression including tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂), nitric oxide (NO), interleukin-1(IL-1), IL-6, IL-8 and other inflammatory factors. Thereby, the production and release of inflammatory cytokines are reduced to exert anti-inflammatory effect. This review is intended to provide reference for related research.
Keywords: anti-inflammatory; mechanism; research progress; sesquiterpenoid.
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