This study investigated the ameliorative effects of acid hydrolyzed celery extract (HCE) and celery extract (CE) in an atopic dermatitis (AD) mice model. The results of the study showed that HCE, more than CE improved AD-like skin lesions caused by fluoro-2,4-dinitrobenzene and house dust mite antigen administration. Further analysis also showed the dominance of HCE than CE in preventing mast cell infiltration in the dermis; inhibiting the IL-31 expression in mice skin and reducing the immunoglobulin-E, IL-4, IL-5, TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-31, and TSLP in serum of mice. Using in vitro studies in a murine macrophage cell line, we showed that apigetrin, luteolin, and apigenin present in both extracts could be accountable for the observed effects as these three compounds and not apiin prevented the nitric oxide production in the murine macrophage. Based on this study, we suggest that hydrolyzing celery extracts can improve the therapeutic efficacy of celery extracts for management of AD. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Apigenin, apigetrin, and luteolin are known biologically active compounds present in celery. Acid hydrolysis could increase the biologically active compounds in natural products. The research investigated the effects of acid HCE in a mice model of atopic dermatitis. The data obtained from this study sheds light on the use of hydrolysis methods to improve the biological activities of plant extracts used in nutraceutical industries.
Keywords: Apium graveolens; acid hydrolysis; atopic dermatitis; celery; immunoglobulin E.
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