Effects of 3-hydroxydecanoic acid on skin cells: anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic and anti-pruritic activities

3-Hydroxydecanoic acid (3-HDA) as one hydroxylated fatty acid in royal jelly has limited research on the potential application. This paper investigated the anti-inflammatory properties of 3-HDA on RAW264.7 murine macrophages, RBL-2H3 rat mast cells and HaCaT human keratinocytes. 3-HDA inhibited lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced morphological differentiation of RAW264.7 cells and reduced subsequent expressions on reactive oxygen species (ROS), TNF-α, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). 3-HDA also inhibited the inflammation/allergic responses of RBL-2H3 cells at exposure to Compound 48/80 (C48/80), as evidenced by reduced degranulation, along with the 45% and 58% reductions in histamine (His) and β-hexosaminidase (β-Hex) expression, respectively. At exposure to either capsaicin (CAP) or 45 °C, 3-HDA also inhibited HaCaT cells, to secrete the inflammatory factor of IL-31, express the transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) activity and release Ca2+. It seems that 3-HDA has the potential to suppress inflammation and pruritic responses, advancing understanding of its biological activities.