Planta Med 2014; 80 - CL3
DOI: 10.1055/s-0034-1382336

Stable, water extractable isothiocyanates from Moringa oleifera leaves attenuate inflammation in vitro

C Waterman 1, DM Cheng 1, P Rojas-Silva 1, A Poulev 1, J Dreifus 1, I Raskin 1
  • 1Department of Plant Biology & Pathology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 59 Dudley Road, New Brunswick, NJ 08901

Moringa (Moringa oleifera Lam.) is an edible plant used as food and medicine throughout the tropics. A moringa concentrate (MC), made by extracting fresh leaves with water utilized naturally occurring myrosinase to convert four moringa glucosinolates (1-4) into stable moringa isothiocyanates (5-8). The optimized MC contained 1.66% isothiocyanates and 3.82% total polyphenols. Compound 8 exhibited 80% stability at 37 °C for 30 days. MC, 5, and 8 significantly decreased gene expression and production of inflammatory markers in RAW macrophages, attenuating iNOS, IL-1β, and production of nitric oxide and TNFα. Our results suggest a potential for stable and concentrated moringa isothiocyanates, delivered in MC as a food-grade product, to alleviate low-grade inflammation associated with chronic diseases.

Fig. 1