A Comparative In Vitro Evaluation of the Anti-Inflammatory Effects of a Extract and Fucoxanthin.

In this study, we compared the effects of a   F&M-M36 methanolic extract with those of fucoxanthin (FX) at equivalent concentration, on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. The F&M-M36 methanolic extract contained 4.7 mg of FX and 6.22 mg of gallic acid equivalents of phenols per gram. HPLC analysis revealed the presence of simple phenolic acid derivatives. The F&M-M36 extract exhibited a potent and concentration-dependent inhibitory activity against COX-2 dependent PGE2 production compared to FX alone. Compared to LPS, F&M-M36 extract and FX reduced the expression of IL-6 and of Arg1 and enhanced that of IL-10 and of HO-1; F&M-M36 extract also significantly abated the expression of NLRP3, enhanced mir-223 expression and reduced that of mir-146b, compared to LPS ( < 0.05). These findings indicate that F&M-M36 methanolic extract has a peculiar anti-inflammatory activity against COX-2/PGE2 and NLRP3/mir-223 that might be attributable to the known anti-inflammatory effects of simple phenolic compounds found in the extract that may synergize with FX. Our data suggest that F&M-M36 may serve as a source of anti-inflammatory compounds to be further evaluated in in vivo models of inflammation.