Biomol Ther.  2013 Mar;21(2):138-145.

Anti-Inflammatory Effect of Quercetagetin, an Active Component of Immature Citrus unshiu, in HaCaT Human Keratinocytes

• Kang GJ
• Han SC
• Ock JW
• Kang HK
• Yoo ES

Abstract

Citrus fruit contain various flavonoids that have multiple biological activities. However, the content of these flavonoids are changed during maturation and immature Citrus is known to contain larger amounts than mature. Chemokines are significant mediators for cell migration, while thymus and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC/CCL17) and macrophage-derived chemokine (MDC/CCL22) are well known as the typical inflammatory chemokines in atopic dermatitis (AD), a pruritic and chronic inflammatory skin disease. We reported recently that the EtOH extract of immature Citrus unshiu inhibits TARC and MDC production. Therefore, we investigated the activity of flavonoids contained in immature Citrus on TARC and MDC levels. As a result, among the various flavonoids, quercetagetin has stronger inhibitory effects on the protein and mRNA expression of TARC and MDC than other flavonoids. Quercetagetin particularly has better activity on TARC and MDC level than quercetin. In HPLC analysis, the standard peak of quercetagetin matches the peaks of extract of immature C. unshiu. This suggests that quercetagetin is an anti-inflammatory component in immature C. unshiu.

Keyword

Quercetagetin; Flavonoids; Immature Citrus unshiu; TARC (CCL17); MDC (CCL22)

MeSH Terms

Cell Movement
Chemokine CCL17
Chemokine CCL22
Chemokines
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid
Citrus*
Dermatitis, Atopic
Flavonoids
Humans*
Keratinocytes*
Quercetin
RNA, Messenger
Skin Diseases
Chemokine CCL17
Chemokine CCL22
Chemokines
Flavonoids
Quercetin
RNA, Messenger