Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Translational Pharmacology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1439835

In vitro evidence of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of a new nutraceutical formulation explains benefits in a clinical setting of COPD patients

Provisionally accepted
Valentina Lazzara Valentina Lazzara 1Paola Pinto Paola Pinto 2Serena Di Vincenzo Serena Di Vincenzo 3*Maria Ferraro Maria Ferraro 3Filippo Catalano Filippo Catalano 4Pietro Provinzano Pietro Provinzano 1Elisabetta Pace Elisabetta Pace 3Maria R. Bonsignore Maria R. Bonsignore 1
  • 1 Dipartimento di Promozione della Salute, Medicina Materno-Infantile, Interna e Specialistica di Eccellenza G. D'Alessandro, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Palermo, Sicily, Italy
  • 2 Department of Public Health, Experimental and Forensic Medicine, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
  • 3 Institute of Traslational Pharmacology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, National Research Council (CNR), Rome, Italy
  • 4 Azienda Ospedaliera Ospedali Riuniti Villa Sofia Cervello, Palermo, Sicily, Italy

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Increased oxidative stress within the airways is associated to epithelial damage and amplification of inflammatory responses that in turn contribute to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) progression. This study was aimed to identify whether a new formulation of N-acetylcisteine (NAC), carnitine, curcumin and B2 vitamin could counteract oxidative stress and downstream proinflammatory events promoted by cigarette smoke extract (CSE) exposure in primary bronchial epithelial cells (PBEC), both submerged/undifferentiated (S-PBEC) and cultured at the air-liquid interface (ALI-PBEC). PBEC were exposed to CSE with/without the new formulation or NAC alone and ROS production, IL-8 and IL-6 gene expression and protein release were evaluated. CSE increased ROS, IL-8 and IL-6 gene expression and protein release and the new formulation counteracted these effects. NAC alone was not effective on IL-8 and IL-6 release. The effects of a similar nutraceutical formulation were evaluated in COPD patients treated for six months. The results showed that the treatment reduced the concentration of IL-8 in nasal wash and improved quality of life. In conclusion, the tested formulation, exerting antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, can preserve airway epithelial homeostasis and improve clinical symptoms in COPD.

    Keywords: airway epithelial cells, cigarette smoke, Inflammation, Oxidative Stress, antioxidant, nutraceutical formulation

    Received: 28 May 2024; Accepted: 09 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Lazzara, Pinto, Di Vincenzo, Ferraro, Catalano, Provinzano, Pace and Bonsignore. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Serena Di Vincenzo, Institute of Traslational Pharmacology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, National Research Council (CNR), Rome, Italy

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.