Anti‐Inflammatory Effects of Punicic Acid and Its Molecular Mechanisms in RAW264.7 Cells and Zebrafish

ABSTRACT Punicic acid (PA) is the main fatty acid in pomegranate seeds, which shows multiple biological activities reported in the literature, including anti‐inflammatory and immunoregulation effects. Nevertheless, its anti‐inflammatory activity and mechanism are not clear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the anti‐inflammatory activity, and elucidate the mechanism of PA. PA was enriched and purified from pomegranate seed oil (PSO) by molecular distillation and silica gel column chromatography. The mechanisms of PA acting as an anti‐inflammatory agent was elucidated through lipopolysaccharides (LPS)‐induced RAW264.7 cells and CuSO 4‐ induced zebrafish models. The results showed that PA had significant anti‐inflammatory activity against RAW264.7 cells at 60 μM and inhibited the LPS‐induced cell morphological changes. In addition, PA also suppressed the various inflammation‐related mediators, as well as regulated mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) and nuclear factor‐kappa B (NF‐κB) signaling pathways. In CuSO 4 ‐induced zebrafish, PA inhibited the migration of inflammatory cells at 280 μM. Therefore, PA is an ideal anti‐inflammatory bioactive substance, and this study provides a scientific basis to develop effective functional products of PA in the future.