Anti-inflammatory effect of soyasaponins through suppressing nitric oxide production in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells by attenuation of NF-κB-mediated nitric oxide synthase expression.

The anti-inflammatory properties of soyasaponins (especially soyasaponins with different chemical structures) have scarcely been investigated. We investigated the inhibitory effects of five structural types of soyasaponins (soyasaponin A(1), A(2), I and soyasapogenol A, B) on the induction of nitric oxide (NO) and inducible NO synthase (iNOS) in murine RAW 264.7 cells activated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Soyasaponin A(1), A(2) and I (25-200 μg/mL) dose-dependently inhibited the production of NO and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) in LPS-activated macrophages, whereas soyasapogenol A and B did not. Furthermore, soyasaponin A(1), A(2) and I suppressed the iNOS enzyme activity and down-regulated the iNOS mRNA expression both in a dose-dependent manner. The reporter gene assay revealed that soyasaponin A(1), A(2) and I decreased LPS-induced nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) activity. Soyasaponin A(1), A(2) and I exhibit anti-inflammatory properties by suppressing NO production in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells through attenuation of NF-κB-mediated iNOS expression. It is proposed that the sugar chains present in the structures of soyasaponins are important for their anti-inflammatory activities. These results have important implication for using selected soyasaponins towards the development of effective chemopreventive and anti-inflammatory agents.