Anti-inflammatory activity of extracts of Bushen-Qiangdu-Zhilv decoction, a Chinese medicinal formula, in M1-polarized RAW264.7

作者：Runyue Huang, Jiehua Lin, Xiaohong He, Xiong Li, Chuan‐Li Lu, Yingyan Zhou, Jun Cai, Yiting He · 发表于：BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine · 年份：2014 · DOI：10.1186/1472-6882-14-268 · 被引用次数：5 · 研究领域：Spondyloarthritis Studies and Treatments、Rheumatoid Arthritis Research and Therapies、Spine and Intervertebral Disc Pathology

BACKGROUND: Bushen-Qiangdu-Zhilv Decoction (BQZ) is one of famous traditional Chinese medical formula for treating ankylosing spondylitis (AS). However, the mechanisms underlying effects of BQZ remains unknown. Pro-inflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-1, play an important role in AS. We therefore evaluated if BQZ could affect the expression of these cytokines. METHODS: Crude extracts were prepared and fractioned with petroleum ether (PE), ethyl acetate (EA), n-butanol (BU) and finally water (ACE). The stability of the extracts was confirmed by high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. M1-polarized RAW264.7 was induced and subsequently treated with BQZ extracts. Quantitative real-time PCR experiments were performed to measure mRNA expression of TNF-α and IL-1. RESULTS: It was found that TNF-α could be significantly suppressed by ACE extracts, whereas IL-1 was dramatically inhibited by BU extracts, which was further confirmed by dose-dependent experiments. Importantly, MTS assays showed that both ACE and BU extracts had a low cytotoxicity. CONCLUSION: Altogether, our study indicates that BQZ decoction exerts anti-AS effects via its anti-inflammatory activity and may have a low side-effect. Further analysis of the extracts of BQZ decoction could lead to a discovery of some novel drugs adding to therapeutic strategy for AS patients.