Epimedin B exerts an anti-inflammatory effect by regulating the MAPK/ NF-κB/NOD-like receptor signalling pathways

Epimedin B (EB), a predominant compound found in Herba Epimedii, has been shown to be effective in the treatment of osteoporosis and peripheral neuropathy. However, the anti-inflammatory effect of EB has not yet been reported. The anti-inflammatory activity of EB was evaluated in a zebrafish inflammation model induced by copper sulfate (CuSO4) and tail cutting. Our findings demonstrated that EB effectively inhibited acute inflammation, mitigated the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and ameliorated the neuroinflammationassociated impairment of locomotion in zebrafish. Moreover, EB regulates several genes related to the mitogenactivated protein kinase (MAPK)/nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappa B)/Nod-like receptor signalling pathways (mapk8b, src, mmp9, akt1, mapk14a, mapk14b, mapk1, egfra, map3k4, nf kappa b2, i kappa b alpha a, pycard, nlrp3 and caspase1) and inflammatory cytokine (stat6, arg1, irf alpha, stat1 alpha, il-1 beta, il-4, il-6, il-8, cox-2, ptges, tnf-alpha and tgf-beta). Therefore, our findings indicate that EB could serve as a promising therapeutic candidate for treating inflammation.