Anti‐inflammatory compounds from Cordyceps bassiana (973.3)

Abstract

Cordyceps bassiana has long been used as an oriental medicine. Anti‐inflammatory effects of Cordyceps bassiana, were investigated. Cordyceps bassiana was extracted with ethanol and then further fractionated with n‐hexane, ethyl acetate, n‐butanol and water. Butanol fraction from Cordyceps bassiana (CBBF) showed the best effective in anti‐inflammation activity in RAW 264.7 macrophages among extracts from Cordyceps bassiana. We tested the role of CBBF on the anti‐inflammation cascade in LPS‐stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. To investigate the mechanism by which CBBF inhibits NO, iNOS and COX‐2, we examined the activation of IκB and MAPKs in LPS‐activated macrophage. Also, CBBF suppressed activation of MAPKs including p38 and SAPK/JNK. Furthermore macrophages were stimulated with generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) via the activation of a membrane‐bound NADPH oxidase, and ROS plays an important role in NF‐κB and MAPKs activation. It is showed that CBBF blocked the intracellular accumulation of reactive oxygen species in RAW 264.7 cells stimulated with LPS as both NADPH oxidase inhibitor. The suppression of NADPH oxidase also inhibited NO production and iNOS protein expression. From the results, we demonstrate that CBBF suppresses the production of these mediators in LPS‐activated macrophages through the inhibition of IκB/NF‐κB pathway, JNK and p38 activation, which may play an important role in inflammatory disorders and, LPS‐induced ROS generation was inhibited by CBBF. Also, anti‐inflammatory compounds, 4‐quinolinol and 1‐naphthol were found from Cordyceps bassiana, and their anti‐inflammatory activities were compared. Therefore, Cordyceps bassiana can be used as a useful medicinal food or drug. Supported by a grant from RDA(No. PJ009241), Korea.