Research Progress on the Anti-inflammatory Mechanism of Ziziphus jujuba Mill. and Its Bioactive Ingredients

Jujube, a kind of "medicine and food homology" dried fruit, shows anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticancer and other biological activities. Among them, anti-inflammatory is one of the main activities. Most of the researches on the anti-inflammatory mechanism of jujube mainly focused on the extracts and their bioactive substances and verified their effects on inflammatory diseases using in vivo and in vitro models. The main anti-inflammatory components of jujube include polysaccharides, polyphenols, triterpenoids and alkaloids, and play their roles by regulating immune response and inflammatory signal, inhibiting peroxidation and improving intestinal flora. Therefore, this review focuses on the effects of the types and structures of active ingredients of jujube on inflammatory response, discusses the anti-inflammatory pathway through the regulation of immune system, oxidative stress and microflora, and summarizes the applications of jujube and its active ingredients in colitis, diabetes, allergic asthma, Alzheimer's disease, obesity and arthritis. This paper aims to explore the anti-inflammatory mechanism of the bioactive ingredients in jujube, and provide theoretical reference and basis for the deep processing and applications of jujube.