Anti-Inflammatory and Antimicrobial Volatile Oils: Fennel and Cumin Inhibit Neutrophilic Inflammation via Regulating Calcium and MAPKs

Michal Korinek; Heba Handoussa; Yi-Hong Tsai; You-Ying Chen; Meng-Hua Chen; Zan-Wei Chiou; Yu Fang; Fang-Rong Chang; Chia-Hung Yen; Chung-Fan Hsieh; Bing-Hung Chen; Mohamed El-Shazly; Tsong-Long Hwang

doi:10.3389/fphar.2021.674095

Anti-Inflammatory and Antimicrobial Volatile Oils: Fennel and Cumin Inhibit Neutrophilic Inflammation via Regulating Calcium and MAPKs

Front Pharmacol. 2021 Oct 11:12:674095. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2021.674095. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Michal Korinek^{1

2

3}, Heba Handoussa⁴, Yi-Hong Tsai¹, You-Ying Chen⁵, Meng-Hua Chen², Zan-Wei Chiou², Yu Fang², Fang-Rong Chang¹, Chia-Hung Yen¹, Chung-Fan Hsieh⁶, Bing-Hung Chen³, Mohamed El-Shazly^{4

7}, Tsong-Long Hwang^{2

8

9

10}

Affiliations

¹ Graduate Institute of Natural Products, College of Pharmacy, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
² Graduate Institute of Natural Products, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
³ Department of Biotechnology, College of Life Science, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
⁴ Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, German University in Cairo, Cairo, Egypt.
⁵ Department of Marine Biotechnology and Resources, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
⁶ The Research Center for Emerging Viral Infections, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
⁷ Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain-Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
⁸ Research Center for Chinese Herbal Medicine, Research Center for Food and Cosmetic Safety, Graduate Institute of Health Industry Technology, College of Human Ecology, Chang Gung University of Science and Technology, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
⁹ Department of Anesthesiology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
¹⁰ Department of Chemical Engineering, Ming Chi University of Technology, New Taipei City, Taiwan.

Abstract

Neutrophilic inflammatory diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), or psoriasis, exert a huge burden on the global health system due to the lack of safe and effective treatments. Volatile oils from terrestrial plants showed impressive therapeutic effects against disorders of the skin, digestive system, lungs, liver, metabolism, and nervous system. However, their effect on the immune system and neutrophil function is still elusive. Fennel, cumin, marjoram, lavender, caraway, and anise are the common nutraceuticals that are widely used in the Mediterranean diet. The volatile oils of these herbs were screened for various biological activities, including anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, antimicrobial, and antiviral effects. Several oils showed anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial potential. Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) and cumin (Cuminum cyminum) fruits' volatile oils significantly suppressed the activation of human neutrophils, including respiratory burst and the degranulation induced by formyl peptide receptor agonists fMLF/CB and MMK1 in the human neutrophils (IC₅₀, 3.8-17.2 µg/ml). The cytotoxic effect and free-radical scavenging effects (ABTS, DPPH) of these oils did not account for the observed effects. Both fennel and cumin volatile oils significantly shortened calcium influx recovery time and inhibited phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (p38, JNK, and ERK) expression. The gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of these oils revealed the presence of estragole and cuminaldehyde as the major components of fennel and cumin volatile oils, respectively. Our findings suggested that cumin and fennel, common in the Mediterranean diet, hold the potential to be applied for the treatment of neutrophilic inflammatory diseases.

Keywords: anti-inflammatory activity; antimicrobial activity; cumin; degranulation; essential oil; fennel; formyl peptide receptor; respiratory burst.