Previous results from in vitro and in vivo studies in our laboratory provided evidence that cocoa beans contain anti-inflammatory compounds that can repress activation of trigeminal nerves. These results led me to hypothesize that a novel compound could be isolated from cocoa beans to treat inflammatory disorders such as migraine and temporomandibular joint disorder. In my study, I was able to isolate and characterize an anti-inflammatory compound from cocoa beans by screening fractions obtained from column chromatography for expression of MKP-1 in trigeminal cultures. The active compound was identified as β-sitosterol based on NMR and HPLC/MS/MS data. The anti-inflammatory mediators MKP-1 and IL-10 were up-regulated in trigeminal neurons in a concentration-dependent manner by β-sitosterol. A somewhat surprising finding from my study was that the active compound β-sitosterol functioned by a similar mechanism as that of the commonly prescribed anti-inflammatory steroid drug dexamethasone. Based on results from my study, I propose that the natural product, β-sitosterol, may be useful as a novel treatment of inflammatory diseases such as migraine and temporomandibular joint disorders.
","abstract_html":"<p>Previous results from in vitro and in vivo studies in our laboratory provided evidence that cocoa beans contain anti-inflammatory compounds that can repress activation of trigeminal nerves. These results led me to hypothesize that a novel compound could be isolated from cocoa beans to treat inflammatory disorders such as migraine and temporomandibular joint disorder. In my study, I was able to isolate and characterize an anti-inflammatory compound from cocoa beans by screening fractions obtained from column chromatography for expression of MKP-1 in trigeminal cultures. The active compound was identified as β-sitosterol based on NMR and HPLC/MS/MS data. The anti-inflammatory mediators MKP-1 and IL-10 were up-regulated in trigeminal neurons in a concentration-dependent manner by β-sitosterol. A somewhat surprising finding from my study was that the active compound β-sitosterol functioned by a similar mechanism as that of the commonly prescribed anti-inflammatory steroid drug dexamethasone. Based on results from my study, I propose that the natural product, β-sitosterol, may be useful as a novel treatment of inflammatory diseases such as migraine and temporomandibular joint disorders.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Hirst, Jeffrey J."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science in Biology","degree_level":"Masters","degree_discipline":"Biology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Paul Durham"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2011-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:16:23Z","subjects":["β-sitosterol","MKP-1","IL-10","migraine","TMJD","trigeminal","natural products","inflammation","Biology"],"languages":[],"rights":["© Jeffrey J. Hirst"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/1296","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Paul Durham"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Hirst, Jeffrey J."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Biology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science in Biology"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["β-sitosterol","MKP-1","IL-10","migraine","TMJD","trigeminal","natural products","inflammation","Biology"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["© Jeffrey J. Hirst"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/1296"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Previous results from in vitro and in vivo studies in our laboratory provided evidence that cocoa beans contain anti-inflammatory compounds that can repress activation of trigeminal nerves. These results led me to hypothesize that a novel compound could be isolated from cocoa beans to treat inflammatory disorders such as migraine and temporomandibular joint disorder. In my study, I was able to isolate and characterize an anti-inflammatory compound from cocoa beans by screening fractions obtained from column chromatography for expression of MKP-1 in trigeminal cultures. The active compound was identified as β-sitosterol based on NMR and HPLC/MS/MS data. The anti-inflammatory mediators MKP-1 and IL-10 were up-regulated in trigeminal neurons in a concentration-dependent manner by β-sitosterol. A somewhat surprising finding from my study was that the active compound β-sitosterol functioned by a similar mechanism as that of the commonly prescribed anti-inflammatory steroid drug dexamethasone. Based on results from my study, I propose that the natural product, β-sitosterol, may be useful as a novel treatment of inflammatory diseases such as migraine and temporomandibular joint disorders.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["β-Sitosterol Isolated from Theobroma Cocoa Induces the Expression Of Mkp-1 and Il-10 In Trigeminal Neurons"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Paul Durham"],"dc:creator":["Hirst, Jeffrey J."],"dc:description.abstract":["Previous results from in vitro and in vivo studies in our laboratory provided evidence that cocoa beans contain anti-inflammatory compounds that can repress activation of trigeminal nerves. These results led me to hypothesize that a novel compound could be isolated from cocoa beans to treat inflammatory disorders such as migraine and temporomandibular joint disorder. In my study, I was able to isolate and characterize an anti-inflammatory compound from cocoa beans by screening fractions obtained from column chromatography for expression of MKP-1 in trigeminal cultures. The active compound was identified as β-sitosterol based on NMR and HPLC/MS/MS data. The anti-inflammatory mediators MKP-1 and IL-10 were up-regulated in trigeminal neurons in a concentration-dependent manner by β-sitosterol. A somewhat surprising finding from my study was that the active compound β-sitosterol functioned by a similar mechanism as that of the commonly prescribed anti-inflammatory steroid drug dexamethasone. Based on results from my study, I propose that the natural product, β-sitosterol, may be useful as a novel treatment of inflammatory diseases such as migraine and temporomandibular joint disorders.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/1296"],"dc:rights":["© Jeffrey J. Hirst"],"dc:subject":["β-sitosterol","MKP-1","IL-10","migraine","TMJD","trigeminal","natural products","inflammation","Biology"],"dc:title":["β-Sitosterol Isolated from Theobroma Cocoa Induces the Expression Of Mkp-1 and Il-10 In Trigeminal Neurons"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Biology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science in Biology"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:16:23Z"}