Helenalin
Encyclopedia
Helenalin is a sesquiterpene lactone
Sesquiterpene lactone
Sesquiterpene lactones are a class of chemical compounds; they are sesquiterpenoids and contain a lactone ring, hence the name....

 with potent anti-inflammatory
Anti-inflammatory
Anti-inflammatory refers to the property of a substance or treatment that reduces inflammation. Anti-inflammatory drugs make up about half of analgesics, remedying pain by reducing inflammation as opposed to opioids, which affect the central nervous system....

 and antitumor effects found in Arnica montana
Arnica montana
Arnica montana, known commonly as leopard's bane, wolf's bane, mountain tobacco and mountain arnica, is a European flowering plant with large yellow capitula....

and Arnica chamissonis foliosa. It is the main compound responsible for the therapeutic effects of Arnica.

While it is not completely known how sesquiterpene lactones exert their anti-inflammatory effect, helenalin has been shown to selectively inhibit the transcription factor
Transcription factor
In molecular biology and genetics, a transcription factor is a protein that binds to specific DNA sequences, thereby controlling the flow of genetic information from DNA to mRNA...

 NF-κB, which plays a key role in regulating immune response
Immune system
An immune system is a system of biological structures and processes within an organism that protects against disease by identifying and killing pathogens and tumor cells. It detects a wide variety of agents, from viruses to parasitic worms, and needs to distinguish them from the organism's own...

, through a unique mechanism. In vitro
In vitro
In vitro refers to studies in experimental biology that are conducted using components of an organism that have been isolated from their usual biological context in order to permit a more detailed or more convenient analysis than can be done with whole organisms. Colloquially, these experiments...

, it is also a potent, selective inhibitor of human telomerase
Telomerase
Telomerase is an enzyme that adds DNA sequence repeats to the 3' end of DNA strands in the telomere regions, which are found at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes. This region of repeated nucleotide called telomeres contains non-coding DNA material and prevents constant loss of important DNA from...

—which may partially account for its antitumor effects—has anti-trypanosoma
Trypanosoma
Trypanosoma is a genus of kinetoplastids , a monophyletic group of unicellular parasitic flagellate protozoa. The name is derived from the Greek trypano and soma because of their corkscrew-like motion. All trypanosomes are heteroxenous and are transmitted via a vector...

l activity, and is toxic to Plasmodium falciparum
Plasmodium falciparum
Plasmodium falciparum is a protozoan parasite, one of the species of Plasmodium that cause malaria in humans. It is transmitted by the female Anopheles mosquito. Malaria caused by this species is the most dangerous form of malaria, with the highest rates of complications and mortality...

.

Animal and in vitro studies have also suggested that helenalin can reduce the growth of Staphylococcus aureus
Staphylococcus aureus
Staphylococcus aureus is a facultative anaerobic Gram-positive coccal bacterium. It is frequently found as part of the normal skin flora on the skin and nasal passages. It is estimated that 20% of the human population are long-term carriers of S. aureus. S. aureus is the most common species of...

and reduce the severity of S. aureus infection.

Helenalin is a highly toxic compound, with hepatic and lymphatic tissues particularly vulnerable to its effects.
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