Journal
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CHINESE MEDICINE
Volume 36, Issue 6, Pages 1185-1198Publisher
WORLD SCIENTIFIC PUBL CO PTE LTD
DOI: 10.1142/S0192415X0800651X
Keywords
Eriobotrya japonica; Ursolic Acid; Lung Inflammation; Nuclear Factor-kappa B
Funding
- National Research Program
- National Science and Technology Program
- China Medical University, Taiwan
- [CCMP96RD-201 and CCMP97-RD-201]
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Pulmonary inflammation is a characteristic of many lung diseases. Increased levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and proinflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and IL-8, have been correlated with lung inflammation. In this study, we used lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to induce iNOS, COX-2, and cytokines (TNF-alpha, IL-1 beta, and IL-8) productions in human lung epithelial cells (A-549). Leaf of Eriobotrya japonica (Pi-Pa-Ye, PPY), a traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of pulmonary inflammatory diseases, was capable of suppressing LPS-induced cytokine productions in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, the suppression of PPY on the cytokine productions resulted from the inhibition of inhibitory kappa B-alpha phosphorylation and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappa B) activation. Analysis of the anti-inflammatory effects of ursolic acid and oleanolic acid, the triterpene compounds present in PPY, showed that ursolic acid significantly inhibited LPS-induced IL-8 production, NF-kappa B activation, and iNOS mRNA expression, whereas oleanolic acid did not have these effects. In conclusion, our findings suggested the potential mechanisms of PPY and its active component, ursolic acid, in the treatment of pulmonary inflammation.
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