Date of Graduation

Fall 2011

Degree

Master of Science in Biology

Department

Biology

Committee Chair

Paul Durham

Abstract

Previous results from in vitro and in vivo studies in our laboratory provided evidence that cocoa beans contain anti-inflammatory compounds that can repress activation of trigeminal nerves. These results led me to hypothesize that a novel compound could be isolated from cocoa beans to treat inflammatory disorders such as migraine and temporomandibular joint disorder. In my study, I was able to isolate and characterize an anti-inflammatory compound from cocoa beans by screening fractions obtained from column chromatography for expression of MKP-1 in trigeminal cultures. The active compound was identified as β-sitosterol based on NMR and HPLC/MS/MS data. The anti-inflammatory mediators MKP-1 and IL-10 were up-regulated in trigeminal neurons in a concentration-dependent manner by β-sitosterol. A somewhat surprising finding from my study was that the active compound β-sitosterol functioned by a similar mechanism as that of the commonly prescribed anti-inflammatory steroid drug dexamethasone. Based on results from my study, I propose that the natural product, β-sitosterol, may be useful as a novel treatment of inflammatory diseases such as migraine and temporomandibular joint disorders.

Keywords

β-sitosterol, MKP-1, IL-10, migraine, TMJD, trigeminal, natural products, inflammation

Subject Categories

Biology

Copyright

© Jeffrey J. Hirst

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