Korean Medicine (KM)-Application Center, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Yuseong, Daejeon 305-811, Republic of Korea.
Toxicity Screening Research Center, Gyeongnam Department of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Korea Institute of Toxicology, Jinju-si, Gyeongsangnam-do 660-844, Republic of Korea.
Am J Chin Med. 2015;43(5):953-68. doi: 10.1142/S0192415X1550055X. Epub 2015 Jul 30.
Epimedium Herb (EH) is a medicinal herb used in traditional Eastern Asia. In this study described, we investigated the biological effects of Epimedium Herb water extract (EHWE) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-mediated inflammation in macrophages and local inflammation in vivo. We also investigated the biological effects of EHWE on the production of inflammatory mediators, pro-inflammatory cytokines and related products, as well as nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation in LPS-stimulated macrophages. The analgesic effect of the acetic acid-induced writhing response and inhibitory activity on xylene-induced ear edema was also evaluated in mice. EHWE exhibited anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting the production of nitric oxide (NO), interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-1β. In addition, EHWE strongly suppressed inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), a NO synthesis enzyme, induced heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) expression, and inhibited NF-κB activation as well as MAPK pathway phosphorylation. Furthermore, EHWE exhibited an analgesic effect on the writhing response and an inhibitory effect on ear edema in mice. For the first time, we demonstrated the anti-inflammatory effects and inhibitory mechanism in macrophages, as well as the inhibitory activity of EHWE in vivo. Our results indicate a potential use of EHWE as an inflammatory therapeutic agent developed from a natural substance.
淫羊藿是一种传统东亚药用植物。在本研究中，我们研究了淫羊藿水提取物（EHWE）对脂多糖（LPS）介导的巨噬细胞炎症和体内局部炎症的生物学效应。我们还研究了 EHWE 对 LPS 刺激的巨噬细胞中炎症介质、促炎细胞因子和相关产物的产生以及核因子 κB（NF-κB）和丝裂原活化蛋白激酶（MAPK）激活的生物学效应。在小鼠中还评估了乙酸诱导扭体反应的镇痛作用和对二甲苯诱导的耳肿胀的抑制活性。EHWE 通过抑制一氧化氮（NO）、白细胞介素（IL）-6 和 IL-1β 的产生发挥抗炎作用。此外，EHWE 强烈抑制诱导型一氧化氮合酶（iNOS），即一氧化氮合成酶，诱导血红素加氧酶-1（HO-1）表达，并抑制 NF-κB 激活以及 MAPK 途径磷酸化。此外，EHWE 在小鼠扭体反应中表现出镇痛作用，对耳肿胀具有抑制作用。我们首次证明了 EHWE 在巨噬细胞中的抗炎作用和抑制机制，以及 EHWE 在体内的抑制活性。我们的结果表明，EHWE 作为一种从天然物质开发的炎症治疗剂具有潜在用途。
