Commiphora africana Ethanol Extract Attenuates Inflammatory Responses With Reduced NF-κB/AP-1 Activation and Src/TAK1-Related Signaling Changes.

Authors

Canglang Mou, Yuhao Wang, Lei Huang, Jinghan Su, Long You, Ziliang He, Yeye Hu, Weizhaole Wei, Wooram Choi, Byoung-Hee Lee, Woo Young Bang, Hye-Woo Byun, Jongsung Lee, Ji Hye Kim, Jae Youl Cho

Published in

Frontiers in bioscience (Landmark edition). Volume 31. Issue 9. Pages 55796. Sep 20, 2026.

Abstract

The bark, resin, and roots of Commiphora africana (A. Rich.) Engl. have traditionally been used in African medicine to treat fever, stomach disorders, colic, and swelling. However, despite this traditional use, its anti-inflammatory activity and the underlying molecular mechanisms remain poorly characterized.
We evaluated the anti-inflammatory activity of C. africana ethanol extract (Caf-EE) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated macrophages and in murine models of HCl/EtOH-induced acute gastric mucosal injury and LPS-induced acute lung injury. Reporter assays, gene expression analysis, immunoblotting, cellular thermal shift assay (CETSA), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)-guided compound annotation, network pharmacology, and molecular docking were used to investigate the anti-inflammatory mechanisms of Caf-EE.
Caf-EE inhibited nitrite production without cytotoxicity in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages. GC-MS-guided feature annotation identified representative candidate constituents of Caf-EE, and network pharmacology indicated their association with inflammation-related pathways. Mechanistically, Caf-EE suppressed MyD88- and TRIF-mediated NF-κB/Activator protein 1 (AP-1) transcriptional activity and reduced the expression of inflammatory genes. Caf-EE also inhibited phosphorylation of Src/IκB kinase (IKK)/IκB- and Transforming growth factor-β-activated kinase 1 (TAK1)/c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK)/c-Jun-associated signaling proteins and increased the thermal stability of Src and TAK1. In vivo, Caf-EE attenuated HCl/EtOH-induced acute gastric mucosal injury and LPS-induced acute lung injury, accompanied by reduced phosphorylation of Src and TAK1 in both tissues. Among the representative GC-MS-annotated compounds, 9,19-cyclolanost-24-en-3-ol exhibited the highest predicted binding affinity for Src and TAK1 in molecular docking analysis.
Collectively, this study provides mechanistic evidence for the anti-inflammatory effects of Caf-EE through modulation of Src/TAK1-associated signaling. Furthermore, the protective effects observed in acute inflammatory disease models support the further development of Caf-EE as a therapeutic candidate for inflammatory disorders.

PMID:
42811961
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 30 Sep 2026.

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