著者
Kazunaga YAZAWA Katsumi SUGA Atsushi HONMA Miyuki SHIROSAKI Tomoyuki KOYAMA
出版者
Center for Academic Publications Japan
雑誌
Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology (ISSN:03014800)
巻号頁・発行日
vol.57, no.1, pp.104-107, 2011 (Released:2011-04-22)
参考文献数
23
被引用文献数
18 29

The methanolic extract of seeds of the tropical fruit camu-camu was screened for its anti-inflammatory activity in carrageenan-induced paw edema model mice. The extract significantly suppressed both the formation of edema in mice by oral administration and the release of nitric oxide from macrophage-derived RAW 264.7 cells in vitro. Based on the results of a spectroscopic analysis, the active compound was identified by in vivo bioassay-guided fractionation to be 3β-hydroxy-lup-20(29)-en-28-oic acid, betulinic acid, known as an anti-inflammatory triterpenoid. These findings suggest that camu-camu seed extract is a potentially useful material as a source of betulinic acid and as a functional food for prevention of immune-related diseases.