Supercritical carbon dioxide Cannabis sativa L. And Humulus lupulus extracts and their influence on human macrophages inflammatory state

Abstract

Summary Herbal extracts are promising immunomodulating compounds. Their standardization may improve clinical outcome in various conditions related to inflammatory state. The aim of this study was to assess the utility of Cannabis sativa L. and Humulus lupulus extracts obtained by supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) in the reduction of pro-inflammatory cytokines release after LPS stimulation in the in vitro model. After scCO2 extraction, the cytotoxic potential of the obtained compounds was determined. The highest non-cytotoxic concentrations were selected for further inflammatory testing. PMA-differentiated U937 cells were used as an LPS induced model of the inflammation to assess the extracts potential to decrease the level of the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α. Either individually tested or in combination scCO2 extracts markedly reduced the level of released pro-inflammatory cytokines in comparison to LPS stimulated positive control. Our results show that the usage of standardized Cannabis sativa L. and Humulus lupulus extracts might be beneficial in reducing the inflammatory state. Application of the mixed extracts not only reduces the need for a high concentration of pure compounds, but also broadens the possible therapeutic effect. Moreover, scCO2 extraction may serve as the efficient method of obtaining functional anti-inflammatory extracts from either hop cones or cannabis.