Citral-Enriched Fraction of Lemon Essential Oil Mitigates LPS-Induced Hepatocyte Injuries

Simple Summary To date, essential oil fractions are emerging as functional compounds of interest for the food and perfume industries. The aim of this study is to evaluate the ability of citral-enriched fractions obtained from lemon essential oil (Cfr-LEO) to counteract, in healthy human hepatocytes, the activity of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a trigger of inflammation, oxidative stress, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition. In our paper, we report that the pretreatment of hepatocytes with Cfr-LEO counteracts the effects induced by LPS. The data obtained lay the basis for the development of commercial products such as food and drink aimed at preventing or alleviating chronic conditions associated with liver dysfunction.Abstract Lemon essential oil (LEO) is known for its aromatic and healthy properties; however, less consideration is given to the biological properties of the fractions obtained from LEO. This study aims to evaluate the ability of a citral-enriched fraction obtained from LEO (Cfr-LEO) to counteract lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-mediated inflammation, oxidative stress, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in healthy human hepatocytes. Human immortalized hepatocytes (THLE-2 cell line) were pretreated with Cfr-LEO and subsequently exposed to LPS at various time points. We report that the pretreatment with Cfr-LEO counteracts LPS-mediated effects by inhibiting inflammation, oxidative stress, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition in THLE-2. In particular, we found that pretreatment with Cfr-LEO reduced NF-kappa B activation and the subsequent proinflammatory cytokines release, ROS production, and NRF2 and p53 expression. Furthermore, the pretreatment with Cfr-LEO showed its beneficial effect in counteracting LPS-induced EMT. Taken together, these results support Cfr-LEO application in the nutraceutical research field not only for its organoleptic properties, conferred by citral enrichment, but also for its biological activity. Our study could lay the basis for the development of foods/drinks enriched with Cfr-LEO, aimed at preventing or alleviating chronic conditions associated with liver dysfunction.