Genkwanin (GW)

Genkwanin is an O-methylated flavone, a type of flavonoid. It can be found in the seeds of Alnus glutinosa, and the leaves of the ferns Notholaena bryopoda and Asplenium normale. Epidemiological and experimental studies have implicated that diesel exhaust particles are involved in increases in morbidity and mortality from lung diseases. Rosmarinic acid, a polyphenolic liquid component in perilla, inhibits lung inflammation induced by diesel exhaust particles in vivo, partly through its antioxidative property. Diesel exhaust particles enhanced the protein expressions of interleukin-1beta, macrophage inflammatory protein-1alpha, macrophage chemoattractant protein-1, and keratinocyte chemoattractant in the lung. Pretreatment with rosemary extract significantly inhibited the diesel exhaust particles-induced lung inflammation.