Anti-inflammatory Activity of the Oriental Herb Medicine, Arisaema cum Bile, in LPS-Induced PMA-Differentiated THP-1 Cells

Arisaema cum Bile is widely used as a folk medicine in Korea. However, the systematic biological properties of Arisaema cum Bile have seldom been addressed. In this study, we evaluated the anti-inflammatory activity of Arisaema cum Bile extract on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation in phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)-differentiated THP-1 macrophages. The Arisaema cum Bile extract markedly inhibited the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines including interleukin (IL)-1 beta, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, and also suppressed the mRNA and protein expressions of these cytokines. Furthermore, the Arisaema cum Bile extract also inhibited LPS-induced inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) protein and gene expressions in PMA-differentiaed THP-1 macrophages. These results suggest that Arisaema cum Bile extract may have potential for development into an effective anti-inflammatory agent, and/or as an ingredient of functional foods.