Codonopsis thalictrifolia Wall. var. mollis (Chipp.) L. T. Shen exhibits anti-inflammatory activity against LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells and peritonitis in mice

Abstract

Codonopsis thalictrifolia Wall. var. mollis (Chipp.) L. T. Shen (C. thalictrifolia), a traditional medicinal plant used in Tibetan medicine, has been previously reported to exhibit a variety of pharmacological characteristics. In the present work, we assessed the anti-inflammatory action of 70% ethanolic extract of C. thalictrifolia (ECW) on RAW264.7 cells induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and mice with peritonitis. High-performance liquid chromatography analysis of ECW identified two major compounds, caffeic acid and luteolin. Our results demonstrate that ECW remarkably repressed the generation of pro-inflammatory mediators, which include interleukin-6 (IL-6), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), nitric oxide (NO), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), and interleukin-1β (IL-1β), in the RAW264.7 cells stimulated with LPS. Moreover, ECW suppressed LPS-induced degradation and phosphorylation of IκBα and the nuclear translocation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) p65 in RAW264.7 cells, indicating its modulation of pathway of NF-κB. In peritonitis mice induced by LPS, ECW treatment ameliorated disorders of immune cells and decreased the pro-inflammatory mediator levels. Our findings suggest that C. thalictrifolia possesses potent anti-inflammatory activity, probably via modulating the NF-κB signaling pathway.