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Background: Swertia chirayita, has been commonly used under the name "Zang-yin-chen" for the treatment of liver infections, inflammation, abdominal pain, and bacterial infection in traditional Tibetan medicine. However, the bioactive components with anti-inflammatory activities and underlying mechanisms remain poorly evaluated.Study Design/methods: Repeated column chromatography yielded two main xanthones from petroleum ether (PE) and ethyl acetate fractions of whole plants of S. chirayita, and their structures were determined as bellidifolin (1) and swerchirin (2) on the basis of spectroscopic data and literature analysis. The anti-inflammatory activities and mechanisms of anti-inflammation of these two isolated xanthones were determined via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and western blot in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 murine macrophages in vitro.Results: Anti-inflammation assay demonstrated that 1 and 2 inhibit the production of the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-6 (IL-6) and TNF-α in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. Xanthone 1 also potently inhibited the production of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) by suppressing the protein expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. Western blot showed that the phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNK), extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), and p38 MAPKs were remarkably attenuated by 1 in a concentration-dependent manner. Particularly, Compound 1 suppressed the phosphorylation of the inhibitor κB kinase-β (IKK-β), Akt, and p65 subunit of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB).Conclusion: The potent suppressive effects of 1 from S. chirayita on inflammatory mediators by blocking the expression of COX-2 and phosphorylation of Akt, IKK-β, MAPK and NF-κB, activation in LPS-stimulated macrophages suggest that 1 can be a preventive therapeutic candidate for the management of inflammatory-mediated immune disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yan-Hou-Qing (YHQ), a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula including fifteen herbal medicines has been used for acute pharyngitis and cough treatment in Oriental medicine. However, anti-inflammatory activities of YHQ are poorly understood. The anti-inflammatory activities of YHQ were evaluated via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the underlying mechanisms were further determined using western blot in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 murine macrophage cells in vitro. Anti-inflammation study revealed that YHQ inhibits the release of prostaglandin E 2 (PGE 2) potently by suppressing the protein expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and leukotriene B 4 (LTB 4) by reducing arachidonate 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. Further study demonstrated that YHQ inhibits the production of the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages by attenuating the phosphorylation p65 subunit of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB). The suppressive effects of YHQ on LPS-stimulated inflammatory cytokines and mediators can be attributed to the suppression of YHQ on the phosphorylation of Akt and c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNK), extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), and p38 MAPKs. This study suggested that YHQ can be a preventive and potent therapeutic candidate for the management of inflammatory-mediated immune disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ganoderma fungi have long been used as a famous traditional medicine and food in country of East Asia. In this work, two new farnesyl phenolic compounds, ganoduriporols A and B ( 1 and 2 ), were isolated from the fruiting bodies of Ganoderma duripora , and their structures were elucidated using various spectroscopic methods. Anti-inflammatory activities were assayed and evaluated for the two compounds. Ganoduriporols A and B exhibited dose-dependent anti-inflammatory effects in RAW 264.7 cells. Furthermore, ganoduriporol A was demonstrated to inhibit the production of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and prostaglandin E 2 (PGE 2 ) through the suppression of COX-2, MAPK and NF-κB signaling pathway in LPS-induced macrophage cells. These results suggested that these two new farnesyl phenolic compounds and the fruiting body of G. duripora could serve as anti-inflammatory agents for medicinal use or functional food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]