Limonoids with anti-inflammatory activity: A review

The natural limonoids distributed mainly in the Meliaceae and Rutaceae plants are known for their unique and complex structure with high degree oxidation and cyclic rearrangement. However, these compounds exhibit a broad range of biological activities such as insecticidal, antibacterial, antifungal, antimalarial, antioxidant, anticancer, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory. There is still limited report about the biological activity of the anti-inflammatory effect of limonoids isolated from plants. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the effect of intact, deformed and rearranged limonoids as anti-inflammatory agents. The majority of anti-inflammatory in-vestigations were evaluated by in vitro and in vivo assays of the isolated pure compounds and their derivatives. For the in vitro study, intact and C-ring seco limonoids showed a potent inhibitory effect against NO production. The in vivo analysis of Intact, C-seco, and AD-seco limonoids showed a potent effect based on the inhibition of pro-inflammatory cytokines expression, indicating their potency as anti-inflammatory agents.

Automated summary

Limonoids, compounds found mainly in certain plant families, have been shown to have a wide range of biological activities including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer effects. However, there is still limited research on the anti-inflammatory effects of limonoids isolated from plants.