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Planta Med 2024; 90(15): 1143-1155
DOI: 10.1055/a-2436-9664
Biological and Pharmacological Activity
Original Papers

Evaluation of Echinacea purpurea Extracts as Immunostimulants: Impact on Macrophage Activation

Sara F. Vieira
1   3Bʼs Research Group, I3BS – Research Institute on Biomaterials, Biodegradables and Biomimetics, University of Minho, Headquarters of the European Institute of Excellence on Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, Guimarães, Portugal
2   ICVS/3Bʼs–PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal
,
Samuel M. Gonçalves
2   ICVS/3Bʼs–PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal
3   Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
,
Virgínia M. F. Gonçalves
4   TOXRUN – Toxicology Research Unit, University Institute of Health Sciences, CESPU, Gandra, Portugal
5   UNIPRO – Oral Pathology and Rehabilitation Research Unit, University Institute of Health Sciences (IUCS), CESPU, Gandra, Portugal
,
Maria E. Tiritan
4   TOXRUN – Toxicology Research Unit, University Institute of Health Sciences, CESPU, Gandra, Portugal
6   Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR), University of Porto, Matosinhos, Portugal
7   Laboratório de Química Orgânica e Farmacêutica, Departamento de Ciências Químicas, Faculdade de Farmácia da Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
,
Cristina Cunha
2   ICVS/3Bʼs–PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal
3   Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
,
Agostinho Carvalho
2   ICVS/3Bʼs–PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal
3   Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
,
Rui L. Reis
1   3Bʼs Research Group, I3BS – Research Institute on Biomaterials, Biodegradables and Biomimetics, University of Minho, Headquarters of the European Institute of Excellence on Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, Guimarães, Portugal
2   ICVS/3Bʼs–PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal
,
Helena Ferreira
1   3Bʼs Research Group, I3BS – Research Institute on Biomaterials, Biodegradables and Biomimetics, University of Minho, Headquarters of the European Institute of Excellence on Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, Guimarães, Portugal
2   ICVS/3Bʼs–PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal
,
Nuno M. Neves 
1   3Bʼs Research Group, I3BS – Research Institute on Biomaterials, Biodegradables and Biomimetics, University of Minho, Headquarters of the European Institute of Excellence on Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, Guimarães, Portugal
2   ICVS/3Bʼs–PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal
› Author AffiliationsWe acknowledge the financial support by the FCT to the Ph.D. grant of SFV (PD/BD/135 246/2017 and COVID/BD/152 012/2021), SMG (SFRH/BD/136 814/2018), and CC (CEECIND/04 058/2018), and the projects PATH (PD/00 169/2013), HEALTH-UNORTE (NORTE-01 – 0145-FEDER-000 039), the NORTE 2020 Structured Project, co-funded by Norte2020 (NORTE-01 – 0145-FEDER-000 021) and UIDB/04 423/2020 and UIDP/04 423/2020 (Group of Natural Products and Medicinal Chemistry – CIIMAR), UIDB/50 026/2020 and UIDP/50 026/2020 (ICVS/3Bʼs) and ERDF, through the COMPETE –POFC program in the framework of the program PT2020. The authors also would like to thank the contributions to this research from the project “TERM RES Hub – Scientific Infrastructure for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine”, reference PINFRA/22 190/2016 (Norte-01 – 0145-FEDER-022 190), funded by the Portuguese National Science Foundation (FCT) in cooperation with the Northern Portugal Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR-N), for providing relevant lab facilities, state-of-the art equipment and highly qualified human resources.
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Abstract

Echinacea purpurea has been traditionally used to strengthen the immune system. Therefore, herein, we investigated the potential of E. purpurea aqueous extracts (AEs) obtained from flowers (F), leaves (L), or roots (R) as an immune booster in human primary monocyte‐derived macrophages (hMDMs). Additionally, to identify the main class of compounds (phenolic/carboxylic acids vs. alkylamides) responsible for the bioactivity, the three AEs were fractioned by semi-preparative high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The AEs and the isolated phenolic/carboxylic acidic fractions were not cytotoxic for hMDMs for all tested concentrations, as confirmed by the metabolic activity and DNA content assays. Moreover, AE drastically induced the production of the interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, with a minimal effect on IL-1β and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), supporting their potential for macrophage activation. Interestingly, in the presence of the phenolic/carboxylic acidic fractions, this efficacy considerably decreased, suggesting a complementary effect between compounds. AE also triggered the phosphorylation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2 and p38 signaling pathways and upregulated the cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 expression in hMDMs. Overall, AE-F was demonstrated to be the most powerful immunostimulant extract that can be related to their higher number in identified bioactive compounds compared to AE-L and AE-R. These results highlight the efficiency of E. purpurea AE to enhance the function of a key cell type of the immune system and their potential as immunostimulant formulations for patients with a compromised immune system due to certain diseases (e.g., acquired immunodeficiencies) and treatments (e.g., chemotherapy).

Keywords

Echinacea purpurea - Asteraceae - phenolic/carboxylic acids - inflammation - signaling pathways - human primary macrophages

Supplementary Material



Publication History

Received: 12 June 2024

Accepted after revision: 01 October 2024

Article published online:
17 October 2024

© 2024. Thieme. All rights reserved.

Georg Thieme Verlag KG
Rüdigerstraße 14, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany

 

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