Evaluation of In Vitro Anti-Inflammatory Activities and Protective Effect of Fermented Preparations of Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae on Intestinal Barrier Function against Lipopolysaccharide Insult

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a potent inducer of systemic inflammatory responses, is known to cause impairment of intestinal barrier function. Here, we evaluated the in vitro protective effect of an unfermented formulation of Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae (RAM), a traditional Chinese herbal medicine widely used in the treatment of many digestive and gastrointestinal disorders, and two fermented preparations of RAM, designated as FRAM-1 (prepared in Luria-Bertani broth) and FRAM-2 (prepared in glucose), on intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) against LPS insult. In general, fermented formulations, especially FRAM-2, but not unfermented RAM, exerted an appreciable protective effect on IECs against LPS-induced perturbation of membrane resistance and permeability. Both fermented formulations exhibited appreciable anti-inflammatory activities in terms of their ability to inhibit LPS-induced gene expression and induced production of a number of key inflammatory mediators and cytokines in RAW 264.7 macrophage cells. However, in most cases, FRAM-2 exhibited stronger anti-inflammatory effects than FRAM-1. Our findings also suggest that suppression of nuclear factor-kappa beta (NF-kappa beta) activity might be one of the possible mechanisms by which the fermented RAM exerts its anti-inflammatory effects. Collectively, our results highlight the benefits of using fermented products of RAM to protect against LPS-induced inflammatory insult and impairment in intestinal barrier function.