Farnesol, a Sesquiterpene Alcohol in Herbal Plants, Exerts Anti-Inflammatory and Antiallergic Effects on Ovalbumin-Sensitized and -Challenged Asthmatic Mice

Table 4

Effects of farnesol supplementation with different doses for 5 weeks on proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokine levels in BALF of OVA/AL-sensitized and -challenged BALB/c asthmatic mice.

Groups	Proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines secreted in BALF				Pro/anti-inflammatory cytokine ratios
	IL-1 (pg/mL)	IL-6 (pg/mL)	TNF- (pg/mL)	IL-10 (pg/mL)	TNF-/IL-10 (pg/pg)	IL-6/IL-10 (pg/pg)
DC	35.2 ± 22.8	34.6 ± 8.6	57.2 ± 13.0	60.0 ± 18.4	0.98 ± 0.27	0.60 ± 0.22^ab
FL	32.8 ± 3.9	20.9 ± 18.3	50.6 ± 15.1	60.5 ± 14.8	0.84 ± 0.15	0.36 ± 0.24^b
FM	34.3 ± 13.4	28.9 ± 22.0	48.9 ± 22.9	60.2 ± 24.2	0.81 ± 0.16	0.48 ± 0.32^ab
FH	35.8 ± 5.6	23.4 ± 12.7	49.5 ± 9.6	55.5 ± 12.6	0.95 ± 0.10	0.37 ± 0.12^b
PC	32.0 ± 3.3	21.4 ± 12.8	39.7 ± 7.9	51.8 ± 14.1	0.83 ± 0.19	0.40 ± 0.18^b
NSC	28.3 ± 8.7	39.7 ± 21.0	54.3 ± 19.2	58.9 ± 15.7	0.91 ± 0.24	0.64 ± 0.26^a

Values are means ± SD ( = 9–13). Values within same column not sharing a common small letter are significantly different () from each other and assayed by one-way ANOVA, followed by Duncan’s new multiple range test. The limit of detection (LOD) of these kits used in this study was <3.9 pg/mL. NSC, nonsensitized control; DC, dietary control; PC, positive control; FL, low dose farnesol (0.003% in AIN-76 feed); FM, medium dose farnesol (0.017% in AIN-76 feed); FH, high dose farnesol (0.067% in AIN-76 feed).