Cited by 260Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated ReceptorsInflammatory mediators and NSAID effectsFatty Acid Research and Health

Carvacrol, a component of thyme oil, activates PPARα and γ and suppresses COX-2 expression

Open access
Hotta, Mariko, Nakata, Rieko, Katsukawa, Michiko, Hori, Kazuyuki, Takahashi, Saori, Inoue, Hiroyasu·2010·Journal of Lipid Research

Abstract

Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), the rate-limiting enzyme in prostaglandin biosynthesis, plays a key role in inflammation and circulatory homeostasis. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are ligand-dependent transcription factors belonging to the nuclear receptor superfamily and are involved in the control of COX-2 expression, and vice versa. Here, we show that COX-2 promoter activity was suppressed by essential oils derived from thyme, clove, rose, eucalyptus, fennel, and bergamot in cell-based transfection assays using bovine arterial endothelial cells. Moreover, from thyme oil, we identified carvacrol as a major component of the suppressor of COX-2 expression and an activator of PPARalpha and gamma. PPARgamma-dependent suppression of COX-2 promoter activity was observed in response to carvacrol treatment. In human macrophage-like U937 cells, carvacrol suppressed lipopolysaccharide-induced COX-2 mRNA and protein expression, suggesting that carvacrol regulates COX-2 expression through its agonistic effect on PPARgamma. These results may be important in understanding the antiinflammatory and antilifestyle-related disease properties of carvacrol.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1194/jlr.m900255-jlr200

Cites

41 of 41 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

We couldn’t retrieve this paper’s full text, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • PPARs are ligand-activated transcription factors comprising PPARα, PPARβ/δ, and PPARγ, which play roles in lipid and carbohydrate metabolism, cell proliferation and differentiation, and inflammation.

    “Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor (PPARs) are ligand-activated transcription factors that belong to the superfamily of nuclear hormone receptors, which also includes receptors for vitamin D, vitamin A, thyroid hormone, bile acids, and steroid hormones. The PPAR subfamily comprises three isotypes, PPARα, PPARβ/δ, and PPARγ, which play various roles in lipid and carbohydrate metabolism,”
  • Carvacrol suppresses LPS-induced COX-2 mRNA and protein expression in human U937 cells, suggesting that carvacrol regulates COX-2 expression through its agonistic effect on PPARγ.

    “In human macrophage-like U937 cells, carvacrol suppressed LPS-induced COX-2 mRNA and protein expression, suggesting that carvacrol regulates COX-2 expression through its agonistic effect on PPARγ [132].”

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Hotta, M., Nakata, R., Katsukawa, M., Hori, K., Takahashi, S., & Inoue, H.
Affiliations
  • Nara Women's University (JP)
  • Akita Research Institute for Food and Brewing (JP)
Corresponding author
Inoue, Hiroyasu
Venue
Journal of Lipid Research
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2010-01
Volume
51
Issue
1
Pages
132-139
ISSN
0022-2275 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2169478020
Cited by
260
References
41
Citations by year
2026: 11 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 22 · 2020: 25 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 17 · 2014: 24 · 2013: 14 · 2012: 24
FWCI
5.37
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Lipid Research (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptors
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Inflammatory mediators and NSAID effects
  • Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Fatty Acid Research and Health
Keywords
carvacrol, thyme essential oil, PPARα, PPARγ, cyclooxygenase-2, essential oils, anti-inflammatory activity, lipopolysaccharide, macrophages, endothelial cells, prostaglandin synthesis, nuclear receptors
MeSH terms
Cymenes, Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal, Humans, Lipopolysaccharides, Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry, Oils, Volatile, Plant Oils, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Monoterpenes, Cell Line, Tumor, Thymus Plant, PPAR alpha, PPAR gamma, Cyclooxygenase 2

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review