An Investigation of the Relationship between the Anti-Inflammatory Activity, Polyphenolic Content, and Antioxidant Activities of Cooked andIn VitroDigested Culinary Herbs

Abstract

There is little research on how cooking and digestion affect the anti-inflammatory activity of culinary herbs. Thus, the aim of this paper was to investigate this activity following cooking andin vitrodigestion of the common culinary herbs, rosemary, sage, and thyme, and the relationship between their anti-inflammatory activity, polyphenol content, and antioxidant capacity. The anti-inflammatory activity of uncooked (U), cooked (C), cooked andin vitrodigested (C&D), and standardised (STD, 30 mg/mL) culinary herbs was assessed by measuring their effect on interleukin 8 (IL-8) release from stimulated human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) and Caco-2 cells. The trolox equivalent capacity (TEAC) and estimated total phenolic content of the herbs were also determined. There was a significant decrease in IL-8 release from PBLs stimulated with H2O2incubated with (U), (C), (C&D), and (STD) herbs and from Caco-2 cells stimulated with TNFαincubated with (C&D) and (STD) herbs. PBLs pre-incubated with (C&D) herbs prior to stimulation (H2O2or TNFα) caused a significant inhibition in IL-8 release. The significant correlations between TEAC and estimated phenolic content and the anti-inflammatory activity suggest a possible contributory role of polyphenols to the anti-inflammatory activity of the culinary herbs investigated.