Description
Aloin is a mixture of aloin A and aloin B , anthraquinones found in Aloe vera, and has diverse biological activities. It reduces IL-6 and TNF-α expression as well as nitric oxide (NO) production and COX-2 and inducible NO synthase (iNOS) expression in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells when used at concentrations ranging from 100 to 400 mM. Aloin inhibits LPS-induced p65 acetylation, nuclear translocation of NF-kB, and apoptosis in RAW 264.7 cells. It reduces motility of T. congolense in vitro and reduces the number of parasites in T. congolense-infected mice when administered at a dose of 400 mg/kg. Aloin (50 and 100 mg/kg) also reduces activity of glutathione peroxidase (GPX), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), and glutathione reductase (GR), the level of colonic malondialdehyde (MDA), and the number of aberrant crypt foci and mucin-depleted foci in a rat model of 1,2-dimethylhydrazine-induced colon cancer.
Definition
ChEBI: Aloin is a diastereoisomeric mixture of aloin A (barbaloin) and aloin B (isobarbaloin), which have similar properties. It is a bitter-tasting, yellow-brown colored compound found in the exudate of at least 68 Aloe species at levels of up to 6.6% of leaf dry weight (making between 3% and 35% of the total exudate), and in another 17 species at indeterminate levels. It is used as a stimulant-laxative, treating constipation by inducing bowel movements. It has a role as a laxative and an EC 1.14.18.1 (tyrosinase) inhibitor. It contains an aloin A and an aloin B.
