Improving the anti-inflammatory activity of 5-aminosalicylic acid by combination with cyanidin-3-glucoside: An in vitro study

Cyanidin-3-glucoside potentiates the anti-inflammatory effect of 5-aminosalicylic acid in LPS-activated RAW 264.7 cells. [Display omitted] •Cyanidin-3-glucoside improves 5-aminosalicylic acid anti-inflammatory activity.•Co-administration of cyanidin and 5-aminosalicylic acid increases drug efficacy.•Synergistic interaction between a drug and a biologically active food ingredient.•Cyanidin-3-glucoside combined with 5-aminosalicylic acid suppresses AP-1 pathway. This study investigated the anti-inflammatory action of cyanidin-3-glucoside (Cy3glc), an anthocyanin widely spread in diet, in comparison and in association with 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA), an anti-inflammatory reference drug for ulcerative colitis. The efficacy, action mechanism and interaction between Cy3glc and 5-ASA were assessed in vitro, in an LPS-activated macrophage cell line. Our data showed a higher effectiveness of Cy3glc in counteracting inflammatory mediators as compared to 5-ASA at the same concentration. In addition, the mixture afforded a better protection than Cy3glc and a much better than 5-ASA, showing a synergistic effect in terms of reducing NO and ROS cellular production. Although neither Cy3glc nor the mixture counteracted LPS-induced NF-κB activation, the mixture strongly inhibited AP-1 translocation to the nucleus and prevented p38 MAPK and JNK phosphorylation suggesting that, the co-administration of a biologically active food ingredient and a medicine could be a potential strategy to increase the medicine therapeutic effect.