Study on the antiinflammatory activity of methanol extract from seagrass Zostera japonica

Methanolic extracts from the seagrass Zostera japonica were extracted successively using n-hexane (n-C6H14), dichloromethane (CH2CL2), ethyl acetate (EtOAc), and water to give the n-C6H14 (16.8%), CH2CL2 (40.6%), EtOAc (34.1%), and H2O (8.5%) soluble fractions, respectively. We have demonstrated that the hexane fraction has the highest capacity to inhibit proIL-l beta expression as compared to other fractions in lipopolysaccharides (LPS)-stimulated J774A.1 murine macrophages. Further analysis of the composition and antiinflammatory activity of the subfraction H5 from hexane fraction showed that it had the best antiinflammatory capacity and that it's major constituents were fatty acids, including palmitic acid methyl ester (21.5%), palmitic acid (24.02%), linoleic acid methyl ester (13.09%), oleic acid methyl ester (8.41%), and linoleic acid (7.93%), respectively. H5 inhibited LPS-induced TNF alpha, IL-1 beta, and IL-6 in a dose-dependent manner, suggesting that H5 is bioactive in antiinflammation in vitro. This study is the first to report the anti inflammatory activity of extracts obtained from the seagrass Z. japonica.