Table3_Anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory activities of the ethanol extract of edible flower from Chimonanthus praecox.XLSX

Chimonanthi Praecocis Flos, namely wintersweet flower, is the edible flower or flower bud of Chimonanthus praecox (L.) Link which is a deciduous shrub plant originated from China and is widely cultivated as a garden or ornamental plant all over the world. However, few studies focused on its anti-inflammatory property. In the present study, we explored the anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative activities of ethanol extract of Chimonanthi Praecocis Flos (CPE) which contained 7.980% ± 0.176% total flavonoids and 1.461% ± 0.041% total alkaloids. In LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages, CPE significantly decreased the production of NO and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) through reducing the expressions of their synthases—inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). It also suppressed the transcription and translation of pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and interleukin-6 (IL-6). Further research revealed that CPE impeded the phosphorylation and degradation of IκBα, thus restraining the nuclear translocation of p65, and consequently dampening NF-κB signaling. In endotoxemia mice, several pro-inflammatory cytokines in serum were also decreased after CPE treatment. Besides anti-inflammatory activity, anti-oxidative activity is another important capacity of wintersweet flower. Indeed, CPE reduced LPS-elevated intracellular total reactive oxygen species (ROS) level by weakening NADPH oxidase activity in cell system. Moreover, it directly scavenged DPPH radical and superoxide anion, and exerted ferric reducing ability in cell-free system. Our findings demonstrate that wintersweet flower can be used as a beneficial natural product or an additive by virtue of its anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties.

冬凌草花，亦称蜡梅，系中国原产落叶灌木植物蜡梅（Chimonanthus praecox (L.) Link）的花朵或花蕾，可食用，广泛作为园林或观赏植物栽培于世界各地。然而，关于其抗炎特性的研究鲜有涉及。在本研究中，我们探讨了蜡梅花乙醇提取物（CPE）的抗炎和抗氧化活性，该提取物含有7.980% ± 0.176%的总黄酮和1.461% ± 0.041%的总生物碱。在脂多糖（LPS）刺激的RAW264.7巨噬细胞中，CPE通过降低其合成酶——诱导型一氧化氮合酶（iNOS）和环氧合酶-2（COX-2）的表达，显著减少了NO和前列腺素E2（PGE2）的产生。它还抑制了促炎细胞因子白细胞介素-1β（IL-1β）和白细胞介素-6（IL-6）的转录和翻译。进一步的研究揭示了CPE通过阻止IκBα的磷酸化和降解，从而抑制p65的核转位，进而减弱NF-κB信号通路。在细菌内毒素血症小鼠中，CPE治疗后血清中多种促炎细胞因子水平也降低。除了抗炎活性外，抗氧化活性是蜡梅花另一重要的功能。事实上，CPE通过减弱细胞系统中NADPH氧化酶的活性，降低了LPS诱导的细胞内总活性氧（ROS）水平。此外，它可直接清除DPPH自由基和超氧阴离子，并在无细胞体系中表现出铁还原能力。我们的研究结果表明，蜡梅花凭借其抗氧化和抗炎特性，可作为一种有益的自然产物或添加剂使用。