Anti-inflammatory function of arctiin by inhibiting COX-2 expression via NF-κB pathways

Background: arctiin,isolated from forsythia suspensa has been reported to have anti-inflammatory,anti-oxidant,antibacterial,and antiviral effects in vitro. however,there has been a lack of studies regarding its effects on immunological activity. the aim of this study is to investigate the anti-inflammatory potential and possible mechanisms of arctiin in lps-induced macrophages. methods. we investigated the mrna and protein levels of proinflammatory cytokines through rt-pcr and western blot analysis,followed by a facs analysis for surface molecule changes. results: arctiin dose dependently decreased the production of no and proinflammatory cytokines such as il-1,il-6,tnf-,and pge2,and it reduced the gene and protein levels as determined by rt-pcr and western blot analysis,respectively. the expression of co-stimulatory molecules such as b7-1 and b7-2 were also inhibited by arctiin. furthermore,the activation of the nuclear transcription factor,nf-b in macrophages was inhibited by arctiin. conclusion: taken together these results provide evidence of the bioactivity of arctiin in inflammatory diseases and suggest that arctiin may exert anti-inflammatory effect by inhibiting the pro-inflammatory mediators through the inactivation of nf-kb. © 2011 lee et al; licensee biomed central ltd.