Acta Veterinaria et Zootechnica Sinica ›› 2025, Vol. 56 ›› Issue (10): 5060-5071.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2025.10.026

• Animal Nutrition and Feeds • Previous Articles     Next Articles

In vitro Anti-inflammatory Activity of Cinnamon Essential Oil and Cinnamaldehyde, and the Protective Effect against LPS-induced Inflammatory Injury in RAW 264.7 cells

ZHANG Yan(), OU Niantao, LIU Mengzhe, WANG Kai, JIA Huixin, YU Wenjing, LI Yanling*()   

  1. College of Animal Science and Technology, Beijing University of Agriculture, Beijing 102206, China
  • Received:2024-11-08 Online:2025-10-23 Published:2025-11-01
  • Contact: LI Yanling E-mail:zhangyan2302@163.com;yanl_li@163.com

Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to explore the anti-inflammatory activity of cinnamon essential oil (CEO) and cinnamaldehyde (CIN) and the protective effect on cellular inflammatory damage, and to provide theoretical reference for CEO and CIN to exert anti-inflammatory activity in livestock and poultry production. This study included 2 trials: 1) In vitro chemical anti-inflammatory study, the anti-inflammatory activity of CEO and CIN at four concentrations (6.25, 12.5, 25, 50 mg ·mL-1) by measuring the inhibition of inflammation-related enzymes (cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX)) by ELISA method. 2) In the study of LPS induced inflammatory damage in RAW264.7 cells, the cytotoxicity tests were performed first to determine the CEO and CIN concentrations. Next, the RAW264.7 cells in the control group were cultured in a normal medium without any treatment. The cells in the LPS group were cultured in a normal medium and treated with LPS for 24 h. The cells in the CEO and CIN groups were cultured in a normal medium and treated with CEO or CIN of different concentrations (1, 3 and 5 μg·mL-1) for 12 h, and subsequently treated with LPS for 24 h. The in vitroresults showed that both CEO and CIN exhibited dual inhibitory activity against COX-2/5-LOX, and showed dose-dependent reduction of COX-2 (PL < 0.01) and 5-LOX (PQ < 0.01) at 6.25-50 mg·mL-1, and the inhibitory effect of CEO was significantly higher than (P < 0.01) CIN at the same concentration. The cell test results were showed as follows: 1) The results of cytotoxicity tests showed that CEO and CIN significantly increased (P < 0.05) cell survival rate within 0.781 25-6.25 μg·mL-1, and 1, 3, and 5 μg·mL-1 were selected for subsequent tests. 2) The observation of RAW 264.7 cell morphology showed that 1, 3 and 5 μg·mL-1 CEO and CIN pretreatment could reduce the differentiation to varying degrees compared with the LPS group. 3) Compared with the LPS group, nitric oxide (NO) content was significantly decreased (PQ < 0.05) in 3 and 5 μg·mL-1 CEO and CIN groups, and the inhibitory effect of CEO was significantly higher than CIN (P < 0.01). 4) Compared with LPS group, the content of interleukin-1 β (IL-1 β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and TNF-α (TNF-α) were significantly reduced (P < 0.05) in 1, 3 and 5 μg·mL-1 CEO and CIN groups. In addition, the 3, 5 μg·mL-1 CEO had significantly higher (P < 0.01) ability to reduce IL-1β and TNF-α content than CIN, but there was no significant difference on IL-6 (P>0.05). In conclusion, CEO and CIN had excellent anti-inflammatory activity, and the inhibitory effect of CEO on COX-2 and 5-LOX and the protective effect of LPS-induced inflammation in RAW264.7 cells were significantly stronger than that of CIN under the conditions of the current study.

Key words: cinnamon essential oil, cinnamaldehyde, COX-2, 5-LOX, RAW264.7 cells

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