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. 2018 Oct 8;2018:1972714. doi: 10.1155/2018/1972714

Table 1.

Anti-inflammatory or antioxidative mechanisms of several phytochemicals in gastrointestinal health, systemic immunity, and neuroimmunity.

Phytochemicals Approaches Action mechanisms Major outcomes References
Curcumin Gastrointestinal health BiP ↓ and IL-8 ↓, in IECs Anti-inflammation ↑ and ER stress ↓ [27, 28, 29, 30, 31]
Serotonin ↓, BDNF ↓, and pCREB ↓, in gut Gut function ↑
Mesenteric afferent nerve response by colorectal distension or capsaicin ↓ Gut nociception ↓
NO ↓, lipid peroxides ↓, neutrophils infiltration ↓, and cell apoptosis ↓, in TNF-α-colitis Antioxidation ↑
Naïve CD4(+) T cells differentiation ↑, Treg ↑, and IL-10-producing Tr1 cells ↑, in intestine Intestinal lamina propria immunity ↑
Systemic immunity Circulating IL-6 ↓, DC maturation ↓, proinflammatory cytokine ↓, and allospecific T cell response ↓ Systemic inflammation ↓ [51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56]
Monocyte phagocytosis of Aβ ↑ and TLRs 2–4 ↑, in AD Systemic immunity ↑
IL-6 ↓, TNF-α ↓, IFN-γ ↓, IL-17 ↓, Cox-2↓, IL-10 ↑, and Treg cells ↑, in lymphoid organs or macrophages. Anti-inflammation ↑ and innate immunity ↑
Neuroimmunity Glial activation ↓, NF-κB↓, TNF-α ↓, IL-1β ↓, IL-1α ↓, IL-6 ↓; inducible NOS ↓, Cox-2 ↓; Bax↓, Bcl-2 ↓, caspase 3↓, and caspase 9↓, in AD and PD models Anti-inflammation ↑, antioxidation ↑, and antiapoptosis ↑ [10, 77, 78, 79, 80]
Tau aggregation ↓ and neurotoxicity ↓, in neurons Neuroprotective effect ↑

Resveratrol Gastrointestinal health Occludin ↑ and zonula occluden (ZO-1) ↑, in IECs Intestinal mucus integrity ↑ [32, 33, 34]
ROS accumulation ↓, SOD ↑, and HO-1 ↑ Antioxidation ↑
T helper cells ↓, Treg cells ↑, and IEC proliferation ↑, in ileitis Gut barrier function ↑ and microbiota dysbiosis ↓
Lactobacilli ↑, bifidobacteria ↑, and enterobacteria ↓ Colonic mucosa architecture ↑
PGE-2 ↓, Cox-2 ↓, PGE synthase ↓, and NO ↓, in colonic mucosa Antioxidation ↑ and anti-inflammation ↑
Systemic immunity Cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1α, IL-1β, IFN-γ, IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10) ↓, chemokines (C-C motif ligand 2 (CCL2), CCL5) ↓, ROS ↓, Cox-2 ↓, PGE-2 ↓, ICAM-1 ↓, and CSFs ↓, in monocytes and macrophage Antioxidation ↑ and anti-inflammation ↑ [58, 59, 60]
Neuroimmunity Glial activation ↓, NF-κB ↓, and cytotoxic factors (TNF-α, NO, IL-1β, IL-6, and C-reactive protein) ↓ Neuroprotective effect ↑, on cortical neurons [11, 81, 84, 85, 86]
Lymphocyte infiltration ↓, protein IL-17A ↓, matrix metalloproteinases, ↓, and tight junction proteins ↑, in BBB-disrupted mice BBB integrity ↑

Propolis (flavonoids, CAPE, or chrysin) Gastrointestinal health Occludin ↑, ZO-1 ↑ and colon fibrosis ↓, in IECs Epithelial barrier function ↑ [35, 36, 37, 38]
NF-κB↓, proinflammatory cytokines ↓, and IP-10 ↓ Antioxidation ↑ and anti-inflammation ↑
Systemic immunity Phagocytosis↑ and cytotoxicity (IL-1β, IL-6, TLR-2, and TLR-4) ↑, in peritoneal macrophages Cellular immunity ↑ [62, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68]
Circulating proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-4, and ICAM-1) ↓ and anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-10) ↑, in LPS-induced systemic inflammation Systemic inflammation ↓
NO ↓, MAPK ↓, and NF-κB ↓, in mast cells and macrophages Antioxidation ↑ and anti-inflammation ↑
Neuroimmunity NF-κB ↓, TNF-α ↓, IL-1β ↓, IL-6 ↓, NOS ↓, NO ↓, ROS ↓, Cox-2 ↓, and caspase-3 ↓, in microglia or PD mice Antioxidation ↑, and anti-inflammation ↑, for neurons [12, 61, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91]

PUFAs (ω-3 PUFAs) Gastrointestinal health NF-κB ↓, Cox-2 ↓, PGE-2 ↓, and leukotriene B4 ↓ Anti-inflammation ↑, in gut [39, 40, 41, 42, 43]
TRPA1 activation ↑ Gastrointestinal function ↑
Intestinal mucosa permeability ↓, gut microbiota ↑, IL-15 ↓, TNF-α ↓, IFN-γ ↓, IL-4 ↓, and IL-10 ↓ Gut immune barrier function ↑
Systemic immunity IL-17 ↓, IL-6 ↓, IL-23 ↓, and Treg cells ↑, in spleen Anti-inflammation ↑ and immune function ↑ [69, 70, 71]
Neuroimmunity Glial activation ↓, ω-3/ω-6 PUFA balance ↑, amyloid precursor protein (APP) ↓, NF-κB ↓, IL-6 ↓, TNF-α ↓, BDNF, and its receptor ↑ Neuroprotection ↑, anti-inflammation ↑, and brain innate immunity ↑ [93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98]

Ginsenosides (Rb1, Rb2, Rg3, Rh2, Rh3, Rg1, Rg2, and Rh1) Gastrointestinal health TNF-α ↓, IL-1β ↓, IL-6 ↓, IL-17 ↓, IL-10 ↓, CREB ↑, glucose transporter 1 ↑, and gut contractility ↑ Anti-inflammation ↑ and gastrointestinal function ↑ [45, 46, 47, 48]
Systemic immunity NF-κB ↓, TNF-α ↓, IL-1β ↓, and PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathways ↑ Anti-inflammation ↑ and enteric nutrition ↑ [45, 48, 72, 73, 74]
Phagocytic uptake ↑ and ROS generation ↑ Innate immunity ↑
Neuroimmunity Glial activation ↓, ROSs ↓, TNF-α ↓, and IL-6 ↓, in the hippocampus Anti-inflammation ↑ and antioxidation ↑ [100, 101, 102, 103, 104]
CD14 ↓, NO ↓, TNF-α ↓, IL-6 ↓, IL-1β ↓, Cox-2 ↓, and inducible NOS ↓, in microglia

Notes: ↑: increased; ↓: decreased; IECs: intestine epithelial cells; abbreviations are shown in the text.