Inflammation in humans is a primary biochemical and physiological response to infection or injury. The Chumash people of Southern California reportedly used the native plant Sambucus mexicana as a medicinal treatment for various types of injuries and ailments. We hypothesized that the compounds rutin and chlorogenic acid could be responsible for previously observed anti-inflammatory activity of S. mexicana extracts. In this study, the amount of rutin and chlorogenic acid in S. mexicana extracts were quantified using HPLC and showed that the flowers of the plant contain more of the chlorogenic acid while the leaves contain more rutin. The effect of these compounds on nitric oxide production in RAW 264.7 macrophage cells was measured and compared to the effects of treatment of macrophages with S. mexicana leaf and flower extracts. The results of these experiments suggest that the amount of rutin and chlorogenic acid observed in S. mexicana extracts is not sufficient to fully explain the observed anti-inflammatory properties of the plant extracts.

Quantification of rutin and chlorogenic acid in Sambucus mexicana extracts using HPLC and analysis of their anti-inflammatory properties in macrophage cells

2019 Spring National Meeting

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