Novel anti-inflammatory Artemisia Naphta oil extract efficacious in in vivo mouse models of atopic dermatitis and psoriasis

AbstractBackground:Artemisia annuahas been used in traditional Chinese medicine and has recently emerged in contemporary medicine as an anti-malaria treatment due to the presence of artemisinin, and topically for cosmetics. Since Chinese regulations prohibit the use of artemisinin in consumer products, we previously developed a novel, topical, artemisinin-freeA. annuaextract byproduct called artemisia naphta (AN) oil. We demonstrated that AN oil extract was effectivein vitroand clinically in subjects with sensitive and/or acne prone skin. Given these findings, we sought to determine the therapeutic potential of AN oil extract for atopic dermatitis (AD) and psoriasis.Results:Utilizing human peripheral blood mononuclear cells, we screened for AN oil extract’s ability to inhibit T-cell mediated inflammation, a hallmark of AD and psoriasis. Results showed that AN oil extract significantly reduced T-cell Receptor induced IL-4 and IL-17A pro-inflammatory cytokine release. Given these promisingin vitroresults, we then tested AN oil extract’s activity in topicalin vivomodels for both AD and psoriasis. In the calcipotriol or MC903-AD-induced model, AN oil extract demonstrated reduction in mouse ear thickness (edema) and several serum cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, and IgE. Furthermore, AN oil extract was also effectively ameliorated lesions, significantly reduced psoriasis area and severity index score down to 5.4 and inhibited serum inflammatory mediators (IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1β) in the imiquimod-induced psoriasis mouse model.Conclusions:The results presented here make AN oil extract an attractive candidate for further development to treat AD and psoriasis as well as continued usage as a cosmetic ingredient.