In vitro and in vivo anti-inflammatory effects of pegmatite

Abstract

Pegmatite is a coarse-grained intrusive igneous rock rich in rare elements such as uranium, tungsten, and tantalum with Ca, K, Mg, Fe, Se, Ge, and Ho. We tested in vitro and in vivo assays for the anti-inflammatory activity of pegmatites. We firstly evaluated the suppressive effects of pegmatite on macrophage cell line RAW 264.7 cells stimulated with proinflammatory stimuli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to determine nitric oxide (NO) production and TNF-α and IL-6 release. The IC50 values of pegmatite exceeded 5,000 μg/mL. Treatment of RAW 264.7 cells with pegmatite significantly inhibited LPS-stimulated NO production and proinflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α and IL-6 secretion in a dose-dependent manner (P<0.05). In vivo studies were tested with two animal models of arachidonic acid-induced mouse ear edema and an acetic acid-induced increase in capillary permeability. The pegmatite significantly attenuated ear edema induced by arachidonic acid and reduced the acetic acid-induced increase in capillary permeability in mice (P<0.05) when the pegmatite was administered topically (10 mg per ear) for 24 h. Therefore, pegmatite potentially shows an anti-inflammatory activity in the in vitro and in vivo mice and in the development of newer anti-inflammatory agents as mineral materials.