Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities of piperine on t-BHP-induced in Ac2F cells

Abstract

Background: In this study, to investigate whether piperine, an alkaloid from Pipper longum, could potentially exerts its effect for the suppression of inflammation and oxidative stress, we examined the modulatory effects of piperine in tert-butylhydroperoxide (t-BHP)-induced Ac2F rat liver cells. Methods: Anti-inflammatory mechanism of piperine in Ac2F cells were examined by performing western blotting. Results: The piperine exhibited remarkable reduction of intracellular reactive species (RS) levels in t-BHPand SIN-1-induced Ac2F cells. In addition, piperine inhibited t-BHP-induced activation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) by suppressing the degradation of inhibitor-κB proteins (IκBα) and translocation of p65 from the cytosol to the nucleus, further indicating piperine’s inhibitory effects on nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxyganse-2 (COX-2) expressions. As a consequence, piperine modulated through inhibition of ERK, JNK, and p38 MAPKs signal transduction pathway in cells. Moreover, piperine pretreatment also regulated the protein expression of antioxidant enzymes such as manganese-dependent superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) and catalase. Conclusion: These results indicated that piperine, a major component of black pepper might be a potential antiinflammatory agent by modulating RS-induced NF-κB activation through the MAPKs signaling pathway and possess the anti-oxidative property. Therefore piperine can be considered as a useful therapeutic and preventive approach for the treatment of inflammation and oxidative stress-related diseases.