By-Product Extracts from Castanea sativa Counteract Hallmarks of Neuroinflammation in a Microglial Model

• Published in: Antioxidants Vol. 12; no. 4; p. 808
• Main Authors: Marrazzo, Pasquale, Mandrone, Manuela, Chiocchio, Ilaria, Zambonin, Laura, Barbalace, Maria Cristina, Zalambani, Chiara, Angeloni, Cristina, Malaguti, Marco, Prata, Cecilia, Poli, Ferruccio, Fiorentini, Diana, Hrelia, Silvana
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 26.03.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Antibodies; Bioactive compounds; BV-2; By products; Byproducts; Castanea sativa; CD14 antigen; chestnut by-products; E coli; Environmental impact; Fatty acids; Flavonoids; Inflammation; Kaempferol; Laboratories; Leaves; Lipopolysaccharides; microglia; Microglial cells; neuroinflammation; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Plant extracts; Proteins; Signal transduction; Software; TLR4 protein; Toll-like receptors; Tumor necrosis factor-TNF; United States > US; Italy; neuroinflammation; BV-2; NF-kB; Toll-like receptor 4; chestnut by-products; flavonoids; Castanea sativa; microglia; waste valorisation
• ISSN: 2076-3921; 2076-3921
• DOI: 10.3390/antiox12040808

is very common in Italy, and the large amount of waste material generated during chestnut processing has a high environmental impact. Several studies demonstrated that chestnut by-products are a good source of bioactive compounds, mainly endowed with antioxidant properties. This study further investigates the anti-neuroinflammatory effect of chestnut leaf and spiny bur extracts, together with the deepest phytochemical characterisation (by NMR and MS) of active biomolecules contained in leaf extracts, which resulted in being more effective than spiny bur ones. BV-2 microglial cells stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were used as a model of neuroinflammation. In BV-2 cells pre-treated with chestnut extracts, LPS signalling is partially blocked via the reduced expression of TLR4 and CD14 as well as the expression of LPS-induced inflammatory markers. Leaf extract fractions revealed the presence of specific flavonoids, such as isorhamnetin glucoside, astragalin, myricitrin, kaempferol 3-rhamnosyl (1-6)(2″-trans-p-coumaroyl)hexoside, tiliroside and unsaturated fatty acids, all of which could be responsible for the observed anti-neuroinflammatory effects. Interestingly, the kaempferol derivative has been identified in chestnut for the first time. In conclusion, the exploitation of chestnut by-products is suitable for the achievement of two goals: satisfaction of consumers' demand for new, natural bio-active compounds and valorisation of by-products.