The Chemical Constituents From Borojo and Their Anti-Inflammatory Activity

Borojo, a fruit native to South America, remains to be comprehensively evaluated for its chemical profile. In this study, we isolated and purified nine compounds from borojo. Among these, three were newly identified cyclopentenes (BLH-1-BLH-3), one was a novel fused-ring compound (BLH-4), and the remaining five were known compounds (BLH-5-BLH-9). To assess their anti-inflammatory potential, we evaluated the compounds in vitro using LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 murine macrophages. Additionally, we conducted in vivo experiments using zebrafish inflammation models induced by LPS, CuSO₄, or tail transection. Our results showed that BLH-1, BLH-5, and BLH-9 significantly inhibited LPS-induced TNF-α and IL-6 production (p ≤ 0.05). Additionally, BLH-1, BLH-2, BLH-4, BLH-6, and BLH-7 effectively suppressed neutrophil recruitment in zebrafish triggered by LPS, CuSO₄, or physical injury. Further mechanistic investigation in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells revealed that BLH-1 reduced the expression levels of p-IκBα and p-STAT3 and inhibited nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65. Taken together, these findings highlight borojo as a promising natural source of anti-inflammatory agents and offer new directions for the discovery of bioactive, food-derived anti-inflammatory compounds.