Journal
JOURNAL OF ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY
Volume 125, Issue 1, Pages 51-58Publisher
ELSEVIER IRELAND LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2009.06.014
Keywords
Calcium; Elastase; Human neutrophils; Indigo naturalis; p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase; Superoxide anion
Categories
Funding
- Chang Gung Medical Research Foundation
- National Science Council, Taiwan
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Ethnopharmacological relevance: Indigo naturalis is used by traditional Chinese medicine to treat various inflammatory diseases. Aim of the study: Topical indigo naturalis ointment showed efficacy in treating psoriasis in our previous clinical studies. In this study, we investigated the anti-inflammatory effects of the extract of indigo naturalis (QD) and its main components indirubin, indigo, and tryptanthrin in human neutrophils. Materials and methods: Superoxide anion (O-2(center dot-)) generation and elastase release were measured by spectrophotometry. Some important signals including mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), cAMP, and calcium were studied by Western blot analysis, an enzyme immunoassay, and spectrofluorometry. Results: QD significantly inhibited O-2(center dot-) generation and elastase release in formyl-L-methionyl-L-leucyl-L-phenylalanine (FMLP)-activated human neutrophils in a concentration-de pendent fashion, while neither indirubin, indigo, nor tryptanthrin produced a comparable result. QD attenuated the FMLP-induced phosphorylation of extracellular regulated kinase, p38 MAPK, and c-Jun N-terminal kinase. Furthermore, QD inhibited calcium mobilization caused by FMLP. However, QD did not affect cellular cAMP levels. On the other hand, neither indirubin, indigo, nor tryptanthrin produced similar changes in human neutrophils. Conclusions: Taken collectively, these findings indicate that QD, but not indirubin, indigo, or tryptanthrin, inhibited O-2(center dot-) generation and elastase release in FMLP-induced human neutrophils, which was at least partially mediated by the inhibition of MAPK activation and regulation of calcium mobilization. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available