Inhibitory effect of Agrimonia pilosa Ledeb. on inflammation by suppression of iNOS and ROS production

Immunol Invest. 2010 Jan;39(2):159-70. doi: 10.3109/08820130903501790.

Abstract

Herbal medicines including Agrimonia pilosa Ledeb. (APL) have been traditionally used to treat inflammations including allergic disease as valuable medicinal properties. To investigate the attenuating ability of APL on inflammation, the NO release and ROS production, which play a key role in inflammatory and immune responses, was first tested using in vitro assay. The 80% ethanol extract of APL showed a significant activity to inhibit NO release and ROS production. In additional extracts from 80% ethanol extract of APL, n-butanol (BuOH) extract displayed the most potent anti-inflammatory effects based on in vitro assay. The extract also significantly reduced nitric oxide in lipopolysaccharide-activated RAW 264.7 macrophage cells (p < 0.05), and suppressed the nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression, whereas the extract showed no inhibitory effect on cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression, suggesting that the BuOH extract of APL could reduce the NO production through suppression of iNOS, but not COX-2. The BuOH extract also showed a significant effect in a carrageenan-induced rat paw edema in vivo model, consistent with our in vitro results. Our findings suggest that the BuOH extract of APL shows a potential anti-inflammatory activity, substantiating its traditional use in medicine.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Agrimonia* / chemistry
  • Agrimonia* / immunology
  • Animals
  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents / pharmacology*
  • Carrageenan
  • Cell Line
  • Cyclooxygenase 2 / biosynthesis
  • Edema / drug therapy
  • Gene Expression Regulation / drug effects
  • Inflammation / drug therapy
  • Inflammation / metabolism
  • Inflammation Mediators / pharmacology
  • Lipopolysaccharides / pharmacology
  • Macrophages / drug effects
  • Male
  • Medicine, East Asian Traditional
  • Mice
  • Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II / biosynthesis*
  • Plant Extracts / chemistry
  • Plant Extracts / pharmacology*
  • Rats
  • Rats, Sprague-Dawley
  • Reactive Oxygen Species / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Reactive Oxygen Species / metabolism*

Substances

  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents
  • Inflammation Mediators
  • Lipopolysaccharides
  • Plant Extracts
  • Reactive Oxygen Species
  • Carrageenan
  • Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II
  • Cyclooxygenase 2