Oral Administration of Vanillin Improves Imiquimod-Induced Psoriatic Skin Inflammation in Mice

• Published in: Journal of agricultural and food chemistry 2017-11, Vol.65 (47), p.10233-10242
• Main Authors: Cheng, Hui-Man, Chen, Feng-Yuan, Li, Chia-Cheng, Lo, Hsin-Yi, Liao, Yi-Fang, Ho, Tin-Yun, Hsiang, Chien-Yun
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aminoquinolines - adverse effects; Animals; Benzaldehydes - administration & dosage; Female; Humans; Interleukin-17 - genetics; Interleukin-17 - immunology; Interleukin-23 - genetics; Interleukin-23 - immunology; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Psoriasis - drug therapy; Psoriasis - etiology; Psoriasis - genetics; Psoriasis - immunology; Skin - drug effects; Skin - immunology
• ISSN: 0021-8561; 1520-5118
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.7b04259

Vanillin is one of the most widely used flavoring products worldwide. Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder. The interleukin-23 (IL-23)/interleukin-17 (IL-17) axis plays a critical role in psoriasis. Here, we analyzed the effect of vanillin on imiquimod (IMQ)-induced psoriatic skin inflammation in mice. Mice were treated topically with IMQ on the back skin and orally with various amounts of vanillin for 7 consecutive days. Vanillin significantly improved IMQ-induced histopathological changes of skin in a dose-dependent manner. The thickness and number of cell layers of epidermis were reduced by 29 ± 14.4 and 27.8 ± 11%, respectively, in mice given 100 mg/kg of vanillin. A microarray showed that a total of 9042 IMQ-upregulated genes were downregulated by vanillin, and the biological pathways involved in the immune system and metabolism were significantly altered by vanillin. The upregulated expressions of IL-23, IL-17A, and IL-17F genes were suppressed by vanillin, with fold changes of −3.07 ± 0.08, −2.06 ± 0.21, and −1.62 ± 0.21, respectively. Moreover, vanillin significantly decreased both the amounts of IL-17A and IL-23 and the infiltration of immune cells in the skin tissues of IMQ-treated mice. In conclusion, our findings suggested that vanillin was an effective bioactive compound against psoriatic skin inflammation. Moreover, the downregulation of IL-23 and IL-17 expression suggested that vanillin was a novel regulator of the IL-23/IL-17 axis.