| Journal of Food Bioactives, ISSN 2637-8752 print, 2637-8779 online |
| Journal website www.isnff-jfb.com |
Review
Volume 14, June 2021, pages 20-52
Spices and herbs as immune enhancers and anti-inflammatory agents: a review
Tables
| Spice/herb | Main bioactive compound | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| African potato (Hypoxis hemerocallidea) | Hypoxoside and rooperol | Zimudzi, 2014 |
| Allspice (Pimenta dioica) | Eugenol | Zhang and Lokeshwar, 2012 |
| Basil (Ocimum basilicum) | Linalool | Radulović et al., 2013 |
| Black pepper (Piper nigrum) | Piperine | Lee et al., 2020 |
| Chili powders (Capsicum species) | Capsaicin | Barceloux, 2009 |
| Clove (Syzygium aromaticum) | Eugenol | Neveu et al., 2010 |
| Devil’s claw (Harpagophytem procumbens) | Harpagoside and harpagide | Williams, 2013 |
| Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) | Trigonelline and 4-hydroxyisoleucine | Singh et al., 2020 |
| Ginger (Zingiber officinale) | Gingerols, shogaols, and paradols | Mao et al., 2019 |
| Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) | Linalyl acetate and linalool | Chen et al.,, 2020 |
| Oregano (Origanum vulgare) | Thymol and carvacrol | Singletary, 2010 |
| Rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) | Aspalathin | Hoosen, 2019 |
| Rosemary/sage (Salvia rosmarinus/officinalis) | Carnosic acid, carnosol, and rosmarinic acid | Kontogianni et al., 2013; Ali et al., 2019 |
| Saffron (Crocus sativus) | Crocin, picrocrocin, and safranal | Khorasany and Hosseinzadeh, 2016 |
| South African geranium (Pelargonium sidoides) | Gallic acid | Kayser et al., 2001 |
| Turmeric (Curcuma longa) | Curcumin | Sahne et al., 2017 |
| Spice/herb | Summary of research | Model | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| IFN, interferon; Ig, immunoglobulin; IL, interleukin; MAPK, mitogen-activated protein kinase; NF-κB, nuclear factor kappa-B; TGF-β, transforming growth factor-beta; Th1, T helper type 1; Th17, T helper type 17; Th2, T helper type 2 | |||
| African potato (Hypoxis hemerocallidea) | No distinction between immune-enhancing capabilities and anti-inflammatory properties | N/A | N/A |
| Allspice (Pimenta dioica) | Increased serum albumin, globulin, and myeloperoxidase levels | Mozambique tilapia | Güllü et al., 2016; Yilmaz and Ergün, 2014 |
| Decreased mortality | |||
| Increased leukocutes and hemoglobin | Mouse | Nayak and Abhilash, 2008 | |
| Basil (Ocimum basilicum) | Increased number of antibodies created against a bird disease and infectious bronchitis | Broiler chicken | Jahejo et al., 2019; Mohammed et al., 2017 |
| Decreased IL-4 and IgE concentrations | Rat | Eftekhar et al., 2019; Kaur et al., 2018; El-Ashram et al., 2017 | |
| Stabilized mast cells | |||
| Non-specific immune response | |||
| Black pepper (Piper nigrum) | Black pepper oil (no piperine) increased IgM and IgG levels | Rabbit | Abdelnour et al., 2018 |
| Piperine inhibited IgM secretion and antigen presentation B lymphocytes | Mouse | Bernardo et al., 2015; Soutar et al., 2017 | |
| Chili powders (Capsicum species) | Increased the immune response and increased response to induced delayed-type hypersensitivity | Mouse | Viveros-Paredes et al., 2021 |
| Increased IFN-γ production and release from lymphocytes | Human cell line MG-63 | Jin et al., 2016 | |
| Pre-treatment protective against experimental autoimmune neuritis | Rat | Motte et al., 2018; Grüter et al., 2020 | |
| Clove (Syzygium aromaticum) | Reduced immune cell counts in response to immunostimulatory agents | Mouse | Dibazar et al., 2014; Bereswill et al., 2021; Chniguir et al., 2019 |
| Eugenol reduced B cell proliferation and inhibited an immune inhibitor | Saraphanchoiwitthayaet et al., 2019; Ding et al., 2018 | ||
| Increased immune cells and Ig with bacterial or no challenge | Mouse and broiler chicken | Wael et al., 2018; Mahrous et al., 2017; Al-Mufarrej et al., 2019 | |
| Devil’s claw (Harpagophytem procumbens) | Immunostimulant with decrease IL-21 and IL-23 secretion | Human cell line THP-1 | Cholet et al., 2019 |
| Increased leukocyte transmigration protein mRNA expression in inactivated cells | Schopohl et al., 2016 | ||
| Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) | Increased IgM levels | Fish | Moustafa et al., 2020; Yu et al., 2019 |
| Improved lysozyme activity, increased protease activity, and increased complement component 3 levels | Moustafa et al., 2020; Yu et al., 2019; Guardiola et al., 2018 | ||
| No effect on antibody titer | Hen and broiler chicken | Samani et al., 2020; Laudadio et al., 2020 | |
| Ginger (Zingiber officinale) | Increased globulin, lysozyme, and Ig levels as well as erythrocyte and leukocyte numbers | Fish | Talpur et al., 2013; Mohammadi et al., 2020; Kanani et al., 2014; Sukumaran et al., 2016 |
| Increased bactericidal, phagocytic, and lysozyme activities but nonsignificant change in Ig and globulin | Hen and broiler chicken | Qorbanpour et al., 2018; Elmowalid et al., 2019; An et al., 2019 | |
| Decreased T-bet gene, increased erythrocytes, and IgM, and unaffected NF-κB | Clinical trial | Aryaeian et al., 2019; Mahassni and Bukhari, 2019; Honarvar et al., 2019 | |
| Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) | Activated both the innate and adaptive response through the complement system, whole blood phagocytes, neutrophils, macrophages, and Peyer’s patches immunocompetent cells | Human cell lines and mouse | Georgiev et al., 2017a |
| Stimulated phagocytes, cytotoxic T-cells, and regulatory T-cells | Georgiev et al., 2017b | ||
| Increased TGF-β expression | Rat | Mori et al., 2016 | |
| Anticancer and antiproliferative activity through increased cancer cell death | Human cell lines | Gezici, 2018 | |
| Oregano (Origanum vulgare) | Increased lysozyme, protease, and bactericidal activity | Fish | Zhang et al., 2020; Beltrán et al., 2020; Espirito Espirito Santo et al., 2018; Mabrok and Wahdan, 2018; Shourbela et al., 2021; Rashidian et al., 2021 |
| Increased specific Ig | Broiler chicken | Galal et al., 2016; Franciosini et al., 2016 | |
| Rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) | May increase pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-6 to stimulate hepatocytes, however no conclusion can be made | Mouse cell line RAW 264.7 and human white blood cells | Hendricks and Pool, 2010; Hoosen and Pool, 2019 |
| Rosemary/sage (Salvia rosmarinus/officinalis) | Conflicting results on if rosemary/sage increases specific Ig | Mouse and broiler chicken | Rasouli et al., 2020; Rostami et al., 2018; Al Sheyab et al., 2012 |
| Augmented innate immunity | Goat | Shokrollahi et al., 2015; Naiel et al., 2020; Yousef et al., 2020 | |
| Saffron (Crocus sativus) | Wide range of immunomodulatory effects including inhibited leukocyte infiltration, decreased serum IgM concentration, decreased microglia, and modulating Th1/Th2 balance | Mouse and human peripheral blood mononuclear cells | Feyzi et al., 2016; Fernández-Albarral et al., 2019; Boskabady et al., 2020 |
| South African geranium (Pelargonium sidoides) | Activated macrophages | Mouse cell line L929 | Kayser et al., 2001 |
| Increased IgG and IFN-γ | Cow | Seckin et al., 2018 | |
| Protective against acute bronchitis, as well as reducing symptom severity and disease duration | Mouse, rat, and human | Bao et al., 2015; Kamin et al., 2010 | |
| Increased neutrophil, Th17, and Th22 cells through the MAPK pathway | Human monocytes | Witte et al., 2015 | |
| Turmeric (Curcuma longa) | Immunomodulatory properties for a variety of diseases | Clinical trail | Abdollahi et al., 2018; Bose et al., 2015 |
| Spice/herb | Summary of research | Model | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| COX, cyclooxygenase; CRP, C-reactive protein; IFN, interferon; IL, interleukin; iNOS, inducible nitric oxide synthase; NF-κB, nuclear factor kappa-B; NO, nitric oxide; TGF-β, transforming growth factor-beta; TNF, tumor necrosis factor; TRPV1, transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 | |||
| African potato (Hypoxis hemerocallidea) | Improvement in allergic rhinitis | Human | Matyanga et al., 2020 |
| Inhibited IL-6 and TNF secretion | |||
| Inhibited NO synthase and NF-κB activity | Human and mouse cell line RAW 264.7 | Zulfiqar et al., 2020 | |
| Allspice (Pimenta dioica) | Inhibited COX-2 production and the NF-κB pathway | Mouse cell line RAW 264.7 and human cell line HeLa | Zhang and Lokeshwar, 2012 |
| Inhibited blood vessel proliferation | Rat and mouse | Al-Rehaily et al., 2002 | |
| Antitumor activity against breast cancer | Mouse | Zhang et al., 2015 | |
| Basil (Ocimum basilicum) | Dose-dependent anti-inflammatory IL-10 production | Human leukocytes | Güez et al., 2017 |
| Decreased phospholipase A2 and serum total protein levels | Rat | Eftekhar et al., 2019 | |
| Higher anti-inflammatory activity than aspirin | Egg albumen denaturation | Osei Akoto et al., 2020 | |
| Significantly reduced edema | Mouse | Rodrigues et al., 2016 | |
| Black pepper (Piper nigrum) | Reduced pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6, and prostaglandin E2 | Mouse, BV2 microglia cells, mouse cell line ATDC5, and rat | Reynoso-Moreno et al., 2017; Wang-sheng et al., 2017; Ren and Liang, 2018; Pei et al., 2020; Mao et al., 2017; Viswanadha et al., 2020 |
| Inhibited macrophage inflammation in pancreatic islets | Mouse | Yuan et al., 2021 | |
| Treated allergic inflammatory through major T helper cell groups | Mouse | Bui et al., 2017; Bui et al., 2019 | |
| Chili powders (Capsicum species) | High doses lowered the pro-inflammatory cytokines TNFα, IFN-γ, IL-1β, and IL-6 | Rat, human colon carcinoma cell lines, and mouse | Motte et al., 2018; Bessler and Djaldetti, 2017; Xu et al., 2017; Kang et al., 2017; Zhang et al., 2019 |
| Contradicting effects on anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 | Human cell lines and mouse | Bessler and Djaldetti, 2017; Kang et al., 2017 | |
| Increased anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-4 | Rat | Motte et al., 2018 | |
| Unclear if TRPV1 is the pathway used for anti-inflammatory properties, p38MAPK and colonic cannabinoid receptor type 1 pathways were proposed | Rat and mouse | Xu et al., 2017; Kang et al., 2017 | |
| Clove (Syzygium aromaticum) | Reduced paw edema | Rat | Marmouzi et al., 2019; Saeed et al., 2017; Humbal et al., 2019 |
| Reduced pro-inflammatory markers CRP, COX-2, IL-6, TNF-α, TGF-β, and epidermal growth factor | Jose et al., 2017; Abdelrahman et al., 2018 | ||
| Eugenol reduced ear edema and proinflammatory cytokines | Mouse, rat, IPEC-J2 cell line | Tsai et al., 2017; de Araújo Lopes et al., 2018; Kumar et al., 2021; Ma et al., 2018; Hui et al., 2020 | |
| Devil’s claw (Harpagophytem procumbens) | Strong inhibition of COX-2 | Human serum and mouse cell line RAW 264.7 | Gyurkovska et al., 2011; Rahimi et al., 2016; Fiebich et al., 2012 |
| Reduced pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α | Mouse cell line RAW 264.7 | Inaba et al., 2010 | |
| Inhibited IL-6 production | Human serum and chondrocytes | Gyurkovska et al., 2011; Haseeb et al., 2017 | |
| Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) | Reduced pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 | Mouse and rat | Zhou et al., 2020 Liu, 2019; Khound et al., 2018; Piao et al., 2017; Sindhu et al., 2018; Nagamma et al., 2021; Yu et al., 2019 |
| Reduced paw edema | Cheurfa et al., 2021; Sindhu et al., 2018; Pournamdari et al., 2018; El-Taib et al., 2020 | ||
| Increased anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-10, IFN-γ, and TGF-β | Mouse | Liu, 2019; Piao et al., 2017 | |
| Ginger (Zingiber officinale) | Decreased pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 | Clinical trial, rat, and mouse | Al Hroob et al., 2018; Çifci et al., 2018; Kim et al., 2018; Kim and Kim, 2018; He et al., 2019; Mozaffari-Khosravi et al., 2016; Askari et al., 2020 |
| Broad anti-inflammatory response exhibited through reduced monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, CRP, NF-κB subunit p65, COX-2, and iNOS | Kim et al., 2018; He et al., 2019; Askari et al., 2020; Hsiang et al., 2015; Hamza et al., 2021 | ||
| Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) | Decreased the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-1β | Common carp, rat, and mouse | Yousefi et al., 2020; Aboutaleb et al., 2019; Souri et al., 2019; Chen et al., 2020 |
| Significantly increased the expression of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 | |||
| Reduced the pro-inflammatory expression of NF-κB and COX-2 | Mouse | Chen et al., 2020; Cardia et al., 2018 | |
| Increased anti-inflammatory cytokine TGF-β | Common carp | Yousefi et al., 2020 | |
| Oregano (Origanum vulgare) | High doses have pro-inflammatory properties while lower doses have anti-inflammatory properties | Pig and rat | Cappelli et al., 2021; Rivera-Gomis et al., 2020; Sharifi-Rigi et al., 2019 |
| Rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) | Mixed results on whether rooibos is anti-inflammatory or pro-inflammatory | N/A | N/A |
| Rosemary/sage (Salvia rosmarinus/officinalis) | Decreased pro-inflammatory cytokine production | Mouse | Yousef et al., 2020; Farahpour et al., 2020 |
| Limited recent research (<5 years) | N/A | N/A | |
| Saffron (Crocus sativus) | Clinical trials often show no anti-inflammatory effects | N/A | N/A |
| South African geranium (Pelargonium sidoides) | Decreased pro-inflammatory molecules from fibroblasts, leukocytes, and macrophages | Human cell lines | Jekabsone et al., 2019 |
| Modulated chemokines | Human | Perić et al., 2020 | |
| Turmeric (Curcuma longa) | Extensive anti-inflammatory or neutral properties supported by many clinical trials | Clinical trail | N/A |
| Spice/herb | Property | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| African potato (Hypoxis hemerocallidea) | Possible HIV/AIDS drug interference | Mills et al., 2005 |
| Allspice (Pimenta dioica) | N/A | N/A |
| Basil (Ocimum basilicum) | Dose-dependent cytotoxic effects against Hep-2 and HeLa cell lines | Kathirvel and Ravi, 2012 |
| Black pepper (Piper nigrum) | Application as a bioenhancer, increasing the bioavailability of other therapeutic agents | Tiwari et al., 2020 |
| Chili powders (Capsicum species) | Low doses of capsaicin may be responsible for cancer-promoting effects, whereas high doses are observed with cancer-inhibition | Lin et al., 2018; Chen et al., 2021; Xu et al., 2017; Guo et al., 2019 |
| Clove (Syzygium aromaticum) | N/A | N/A |
| Devil’s claw (Harpagophytem procumbens) | Harpagide observed to have a toxic effect at a concentration of 1 mg/mL | Gyurkovska et al., 2011 |
| Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) | N/A | N/A |
| Ginger (Zingiber officinale) | Safe and effective for treating nausea | Nikkhah Bodagh et al., 2018 |
| Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) | Some irritative properties at 10% in topical treatments and cytotoxic at 30 and 90 ug/mL | Rai et al., 2020; Cardia et al., 2018 |
| Oregano (Origanum vulgare) | Pro-inflammatory at high doses | Rivera-Gomis et al., 2020; Sharifi-Rigi et al., 2019 |
| Rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) | Contradictory results on immunomodulation abilities and inflammatory properties | N/A |
| Rosemary/sage (Salvia rosmarinus/officinalis) | N/A | N/A |
| Saffron (Crocus sativus) | Cytotoxic at very high doses | Mehri et al., 2020 |
| South African geranium (Pelargonium sidoides) | Risk of bias in some studies | N/A |
| Turmeric (Curcuma longa) | Low bioavailability of curcumin | Kunnumakkara et al., 2019 |