Anti-inflammatory Activity of the Water Extract from Treehom Remedy

Abstract

Treehom remedy is a Thai traditional medicine used for relieving of pyrexia. Its composition are Terminalia sp., Terminalia bellirica Roxb., Phyllanthus emblica L., Coriandrum sativum Linn., Aristolochia sp., Angelica dahurica Benth., Glycyrrhiza glabra L., Sodium borate, Trigonella foenum-graecum L., Terminalia chebula Retz., Rheum officinale Baill. The aim of this study is to investigate the anti-inflammatory activity of the water extract from this remedy on LPS-activated J774A.1 macrophages. Nitric oxide production,COX-2 and iNOS expression were determined and compared between the extract- treated and untreated group.Our results demonstrated that the water extract of Treehom remedy significantly inhibited NO production from LPS-stimulated macrophages in concentration-dependent manner. The IC₅₀ value was 60.05 µg/ml. This extract did not affect J774A.1 cell viability at all concentration used in this study. The activity of this extract on iNOS enzyme showed the significant decreased in iNOS mRNA expression. This finding corresponded to the decrease in NO generation. In addition the extract was significantly decreased the expression of COX-2 mRNA enzyme. This enzyme is upregulated during inflammatory process. All these results showed the anti-inflammatory potential of Treehom remedy extract.