Anti-inflammatory effect of Lycium Fruit water extract in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophage cells

Lycium Fruit has been used as a traditional drug for low back pain and chronic cough in east-Asian countries. However, inhibitory effects of Lycium Fruit water extract (LFWE) on inflammation remain unknown. In this study, we investigated the inhibitory effects of LFWE on pro-inflammatory mediator production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. LFWE inhibited LPS-induced nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin (PG) E-2, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and interleukin (IL)-6 production as well as their synthesizing enzyme inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 gene expression. Furthermore. LFWE inhibited phosphorylations of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), p38 and c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) as well as suppression of I kappa B alpha degradation and nuclear translocation of nuclear factor (NF)-kappa B upon LPS stimulation. In addition, LFWE suppressed NO, PGE(2), TNF-alpha and IL-6 production in LPS-stimulated peritoneal macrophage cells. Taken together, our results suggest that LFWE inhibits the production of various inflammatory mediators via blockade on the MAPKs and NF-kappa B pathways. This finding first explains the mechanism of anti-inflammatory effect by LFWE in LPS-stimulated macrophage cells. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.