Anti-inflammatory effect of phytoncide in an animal model of gastrointestinal inflammation. - GreenMedInfo Summary

Phytoncide is known to have antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties.This study was carried out to confirm the anti-inflammatory activity of two types of phytoncide extracts from pinecone waste.We made two types of animal models to evaluate the efficacy, an indomethacin-induced gastroenteritis rat model and a dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis mouse model.In the gastroenteritis experiment, the expression of induced-nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), a marker for inflammation, decreased in the phytoncide-supplemented groups, and gastric ulcer development was significantly inhibited (<0.05). In the colitis experiment, the shortening of the colon length and the iNOS expression were significantly suppressed in the phytoncide-supplemented group (<0.05).Through this study, we confirmed that phytoncide can directly inhibit inflammation in digestive organs. Although further research is needed, we conclude that phytoncide has potential anti-inflammatory properties in the digestive tract and can be developed as a functional agent.