The anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of chickpea hull phenolic extracts

Inflammation and oxidative stress are the primary underlying causes of several chronic inflammatory diseases. Dietary polyphenols have been demonstrated to possess anti-inflammatory and antioxidant potential. This study aims to determine if chickpea hull phenolic extracts (CHPE) can modulate biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress in RAW 264.7 murine macrophage cells. Cells were pre-treated with varying concentrations of CHPE (20, 50, 100, 250, and 500 μg/mL) before inducing inflammatory conditions using lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of CHPE was determined by measuring the activity of antioxidant enzymes and the expression of inflammatory mediators. CHPE pre-treatment significantly increased the activity of catalase and glutathione peroxidase (GPx). Pre-treatment with CHPE also significantly reduced the production of inflammatory markers such as nitric oxide (NO) and interleukin-6 (IL-6). Results obtained from this study suggest that CHPE may alleviate oxidative stress and inflammation by regulating pro-inflammatory markers and antioxidant enzymes associated with chronic inflammation.