Synergistic Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Phenolics from Purple Potato and Lycopene Using Mono- and Coculture Cell Models

This study aimed to investigate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory interactions, and the underlying mechanisms, of anthocyanins and carotenoids in purple potato. The results revealed that the higher phenolic extracts of purple potato (PEPP) content in combination with lycopene (LYC) lead to a strong synergistic inhibition in the secretion of IL-8 and ICAM-1 induced by TNF-α in the Caco-2/EA.hy926 cell coculture model. For example, the IL-8 mRNA expression of the PEPP and LYC combination group (3.07 ± 0.83-fold of control) was lower than that in the PEPP (4.54 ± 0.79-fold of control) and LYC (6.19 ± 1.17-fold of control) groups. The underlying mechanisms of the synergistic effects were that the PEPP and LYC combination reduced the expression of tight junction ZO-1 and synergistically inhibited the activities of the MAPK and NF-κB signaling pathways, especially the former. The observed synergistic effects support their potential application as functional food ingredients for promoting gut and cardiovascular health.