Myrobalane fruit extracts modulate immunobiochemical pathways in vitro

The study investigates the effects of myrobalane fruit extracts, essential in Asian traditional medicine and notably part of the Triphala formulation, on human cell models. The complexity of these botanical preparations suggests a multi-target mode of action, making it difficult to identify specific active ingredients. The in vitro study revealed that, beyond their antioxidant properties, myrobalane fruit extracts modulate tryptophan metabolism and affect immunobiochemical and cytoprotective signaling pathways in a dose-dependent manner. Integrated transcriptome analysis of treated cells showed impacts on immune response pathways, oxidative stress, and detoxification processes. Specifically, a synergistic activation of the endogenous antioxidant response was observed in liver epithelial cells treated with a combination of the three fruit extracts. These findings highlight the modulation of various signaling pathways and cellular processes, underpinning the complex multi-target effects of myrobalane fruit extracts. Despite being limited to in vitro data, this study enhances the understanding of the mode of action of these botanical mixtures. Triplicate cultures of THP-1 cells were treated with BB3 extract (25 µg/ml and 50 µg/ml) plus LPS [1 µg/ml] or vehicle control plus LPS for 24 hours. Following treatment, cells were harvested by centrifugation, and total RNA was extracted using the RNeasy Mini Kit (Qiagen, Germany) with an included DNase digest step. The RNA was quantified and assessed for quality via spectrophotometric measurement and evaluation of 18S/28S ribosomal RNA band intensities on an agarose gel. The RNA from triplicates was pooled and analyzed using Affymetrix Human Genome U133 Plus 2.0 microarrays (one array per treatment).