Quinic acid is a biologically active component of the Uncaria tomentosa extract C-Med 100

• Published in: International immunopharmacology Vol. 5; no. 1; pp. 219 - 229
• Main Authors: Åkesson, Christina, Lindgren, Hanna, Pero, Ronald W., Leanderson, Tomas, Ivars, Fredrik
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 2005; Elsevier
• Subjects: Ammonia - chemistry; Animals; B-Lymphocytes - drug effects; Basic Medicine; Biological and medical sciences; Cat's Claw; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes - drug effects; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes - drug effects; Cell Proliferation - drug effects; Cell survival; Cell Survival - drug effects; Farmakologi och toxikologi; Female; Humans; Inhibition; Jurkat Cells; Luciferases - metabolism; Lymphocyte Count; Medical and Health Sciences; Medical sciences; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Medicinska och farmaceutiska grundvetenskaper; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; NF-kappa B - antagonists & inhibitors; NF-κB; Pharmacology and Toxicology; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Plant Extracts - chemistry; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; Proliferation; Quinic Acid - analysis; Quinic Acid - pharmacology; Spleen - drug effects; T-Lymphocyte Subsets - drug effects; Uncaria; Uncaria tomentosa; NF-κB; Uncaria tomentosa; Cell survival; Inhibition; Proliferation; Cell proliferation; Acids; Extract; Inhibitor; Transcription factor NFκB; In vitro; Survival
• ISSN: 1567-5769; 1878-1705; 1878-1705
• DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2004.09.028

We have previously reported that the C-Med 100® extract of the plant
Uncaria tomentosa induces prolonged lymphocyte half life and hence increased spleen cell number in mice receiving the extract in their drinking water. Further, the extract induces cell proliferation arrest and inhibits activation of the transcriptional regulator nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) in vitro. We now report that mice exposed to quinic acid (QA), a component of this extract, had significantly increased number of spleen cells, thus recapitulating the in vivo biological effect of C-Med 100® exposure. Commercially supplied QA (H
+ form) did not, however, inhibit cell proliferation in vitro, while the ammonia-treated QA (QAA) was a potent inhibitor. Both QA and QAA inhibited NF-κB activity in exposed cells at similar concentrations. Thus, our present data identify QA as a candidate component for both in vivo and in vitro biological effects of the C-Med 100® extract.