Isolation and Characterization of an Immunomodulatory Compound from a Plant Used in Traditional Chinese Medicine

Abstract

Inflammation is a normal part of a healthy immune response. However, when inflammatory pathways are overactive or inappropriately activated, diseases such as atopic dermatitis, Crohn’s disease, and asthma can occur. Current anti-inflammatory drugs have many side effects and can be very expensive. The purpose of this study was to isolate and characterize an immunomodulatory compound in Mangifera persiciformis, a plant used in traditional Chinese medicine. A bioassay-guided fractionation of M. persiciformis was conducted. After fractionating extract 23B of M. persiciformis using flash chromatography, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) and cell viability assays were used to identify fractions with nontoxic, immunomodulatory properties in THP-1 human monocyte-derived macrophages. Fractions 4, 5, and 6 of 23B caused a reduced cytokine response to bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS). Only Fraction 4 maintained cell viability and was further fractionated until a single compound referred to as F4-2b was isolated. An attempt was made to characterize and identify this compound using NMR spectroscopy. The NMR spectroscopy revealed some structural characteristics of the F4-2b, but further isolation and purification will be required in order to identify the compound.