Anti-inflammatory Potential of Macamides Isolated from Yellow Tubers of Mashua (Tropaeolum Tuberosum)

AbstractAlthough Tropaeolum tuberosum tubers have been consumed cooked as a folk remedy for the treatment of skin, lungs, liver and kidneys diseases, these uses have very limited scientific basis. Therefore, this article develops a phytochemical analysis of the yellow tubers of T. tuberosum with the objective to assess whether the isolated compounds have anti-inflammatory potential in the CCD-1109Sk, MRC-5 and RWPE-1 cell lines. We performed an extraction of T. tuberosum tubers using different organic solvents, followed by a bioguided chromatographic separation. Four macamides were identified by LC/MS techniques, but only N-benzyllinoleamide (1) and N-benzyloleamide (2) were isolated and elucidated by NMR/MS techniques, given that they were present in a larger proportion in the tubers. The anti-inflammatory potential of macamides was evaluated by the inhibition of NF-κB and STAT3 activation. Both compounds displayed inhibition of NF-κB activation with IC50 values of 2.28±0.54 µM; 3.66±0.34 µM and 4.48±0.29 µM for compound (1) and 6.50±0.75 µM; 7.74±0.19 µM and 8.37 ±0.09 µM for compound (2) in CCD-1109Sk, MRC-5 and RWPE-1 cell lines, respectively. Moreover, both compounds inhibited the STAT3 activation with IC50 of 0.61±0.76 µM; 1.24±0.05 µM and 2.10±0.12 µM for compound (1) and 5.49±0.31 µM; 7.73 ±0.94 µM and 7.79±0.30 µM for compound (2). Therefore, isolated macamides of T. tuberosum tubers showed promising anti-inflammatory effects, suggesting a possible beneficial use to combat inflammatory processes of skin, lung and prostate.