title: Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of ESSIAC and Flor-Essence.
abstract: Essiac (ES) and Flor-Essence (FE) are two herbal teas widely taken by North American cancer patients during chemo- and radiation-therapy. The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of these two herbal teas were assessed in this study. Cell-free Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity assay shows that at 1/5 dilution, ES and FE have hydroxyl radical scavenging activity equivalent to 10.65 microM and 5.74 microM of Trolox respectively. Treatment with ES at 1/10 and 1/20 dilutions significantly increased nitric oxide (NO) production by murine RAW 264.7 cells, but inhibited NO production in a concentration-dependent manner by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated cells. In contrast, FE at 1/10 and 1/20 dilutions did not significantly induce NO production by RAW 264.7 cells, nor did it, at these dilutions, inhibit the NO production by LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. RT-PCR assay shows that both 1/20 and 1/100 dilutions of ES and FE induced mRNA expression of IL-1beta, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) pro-inflammatory molecules in RAW 264.7 cells compared to untreated controls. Addition of ES and FE at 1/20 and 1/100 dilutions to LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells did not alter IL-1beta, iNOS and COX-2 mRNA expression in these cells. ES and FE treatment did not affect TNFalpha mRNA expression in non-stimulated or LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. Our data show that ES but not FE stimulated NO release by non-stimulated and inhibited LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. There were only minor differences between ES and FE in their induction of mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory molecules. Further research is needed to investigate the differential activities of these two herbal teas in stimulating pro-inflammatory mediators release by RAW 264.7 cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Center for Complementary Medicine Research, BC Research Institute for Children's and Women's Health, University of British Columbia, 4480 Oak Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cheung
authors.forename: Kye-Taek
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tai
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques; D016207:Cytokines / Q000096:biosynthesis; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers; D007249:Inflammation; D008264:Macrophages; D051379:Mice; D009000:Monocytes; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000032:analysis; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000096:biosynthesis; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013662:Tea
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D000975:Antioxidants; D016207:Cytokines; C111756:Essiac; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers; D010936:Plant Extracts; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D013662:Tea; C488083:flor-essence; D009569:Nitric Oxide