Clinopodium vulgare L. (wild basil) extract and its active constituents modulate cyclooxygenase-2 expression in neutrophils.

Clinopodium vulgare L. (wild basil) has a wide range of ethnopharmacological applications and accumulates a broad spectrum of phenolic compounds, recognized for their anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties. The triggered cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression is creating an immunosuppressive microenvironment in the inflamed tissue and considered to be the main cause of failure of even new anticancer-/immune-therapies. Nowadays, selective and novel plant-derived COX-2 inhibitors with safe profile are subject of profound research interest. This study aimed to analyze the metabolic profile of C. vulgare and search for phenolic molecules with potential biological properties. By application of 1H and 2D-NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) profiling, caffeic, chlorogenic acids and catechin were identified along with a bunch of primary and secondary metabolites. Further, the biological effect of C. vulgare extract (CVE) and its constituents on zymosan-induced COX-2 expression and apoptosis of murine neutrophils have been studied. The CVE, caffeic and chlorogenic acids inhibited zymosan-induced COX-2 expression in bone marrow neutrophils, in vitro and in vivo activated. The obtained data indicate that CVE may have a good potential to manipulate neutrophil functions, however, its action may depend on the cellular state, the inflammatory milieu and the relative content of caffeic and chlorogenic acid in the extract.