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. 2025 Jul 10;13(7):e70596.
doi: 10.1002/fsn3.70596. eCollection 2025 Jul.

Anti-Inflammatory Activity and Mechanism of Stearic Acid Extract From Purslane

Xiao-Min Lin  1 , Ai-Jing Chen  1 , Hui-Min Zhang  2   3 , Zhi-Zhuo Kuang  1 , Rui Chen  4 , Meng-Die Wu  1 , Jie Chen  1 , Xin Ma  1 , Lei Zhao  2 , Yan Xing  3 , He Ni  1
Affiliations

Anti-Inflammatory Activity and Mechanism of Stearic Acid Extract From Purslane

Xiao-Min Lin et al. Food Sci Nutr. .

Abstract

Purslane, as a traditional edible and medicinal herb, has been proven to have good anti-inflammatory activity. In this study, it was clarified that stearic acid was the main anti-inflammatory substance in purslane and could decrease the secretion of inflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and interleukin-10 (IL-10) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. Meanwhile, the inhibitory effect of liposoluble extract of purslane (PLE) and stearic acid on LPS-induced ulcerative enteritis was determined. LPS-induced enteritis, including body weight loss, reduced weight of the small intestine, and histological intestinal damage, was significantly ameliorated in mice fed PLE and stearic acid. In particular, PLE could significantly reduce the levels of TNF-α, IL-6, and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in the small intestine through NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathways. Thus, our results proved that purslane could be considered a natural anti-inflammatory medicine to combat LPS-induced inflammation and provide a theoretical basis for future applications in the field of medicine or functional food.

Keywords: anti‐inflammatory activity; inflammatory bowel diseases; purslane; stearic acid.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
The cytotoxicity of different concentrations of PSA (A) and indomethacin (B) to RAW264.7 macrophages.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Effect of PSA on the release of NO (A), TNF‐α (B), IL‐6 (C), and IL‐10 (D) in RAW264.7 macrophages.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Effects of PLE and SA on LPS‐induced small intestine injuries in mice. (A) Diagram of the animal experimental scheme; DAI score before (B) and after (C) administration of PLE and SA.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Effects of PLE and SA on small intestine length (A) and weight (B) of LPS‐induced mice.
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Representative photographs of H&E staining of the small intestine tissues.
FIGURE 6
FIGURE 6
Effects of PLE and SA on the expression of TNF‐α (A), IL‐6 (B), and IL‐1β (C) in small intestine tissues.
FIGURE 7
FIGURE 7
Effects of PLE and SA on the expression of p38 (A and C) and p65 (B and D) in small intestine tissues.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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