ScholarWorks@동국대학교

초록

Centella asiatica Urb. is a medicinal plant rich in triterpenoid constituents with a reported neurobiological relevance. Its major metabolites are glycosylated triterpenoids, such as asiaticoside and madecassoside, whereas the corresponding acidic triterpenoids, including asiatic acid and madecassic acid, are typically present at low abundance. Given the increasing interest in how metabolic forms of natural products influence biological activity, this study investigated whether lactic acid bacteria (LAB)-mediated fermentation could induce metabolic remodeling of C. asiatica through microbial biotransformation. LAB fermentation markedly altered the secondary metabolite profile, which was characterized by a reduction in phenolic compounds and glycosylated triterpenoids and a pronounced enrichment of acidic triterpenoids. This compositional shift was accompanied by changes in bioactivity, including a decreased antioxidant capacity but enhanced anti-inflammatory effects in macrophage cells. Fermented C. asiatica significantly suppressed the expression of proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-alpha and IL-1 beta) and modulated amyloid-beta and tau protein aggregation behavior in vitro. Furthermore, in an Alzheimer's disease transgenic mouse model, fermented extracts were associated with reduced amyloid plaque deposition, as assessed by Thioflavin S staining. Collectively, these results demonstrate that LAB-mediated fermentation drives functional metabolic remodeling of C. asiatica by altering the triterpenoid composition and bioactivity profiles. This work highlights microbial biotransformation as a versatile strategy for modulating the biological attributes of plant-derived natural products and for exploring relationships between chemical form and bioactivity in complex biological systems.

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