title: Effects of the brown seaweed Undaria pinnatifida on erythematous inflammation assessed using digital photo analysis.
abstract: The brown seaweed Undaria pinnatifida (Harvey) Suringar produced potent inhibition of erythematous inflammation assessed using digital photo analysis. The analysis technique was validated by laser speckle flowgraphy and blood vessel contraction. The methanol extract suppressed erythema by 50% when applied within 1 h before or 15 min after application of phorbol myristate acetate. Erythema reduction to half-maximal values took 12 h with the extract, compared with 25 h with the vehicle. The blade part of the thallus showed the highest activity, while the northern type of U. pinnatifida had slightly higher activity than the southern type. The active constituents were stearidonic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid. These findings reinforce the claims of the health care industry and indigenous medicine that U. pinnatifida can be used as a health food and remedy for inflammation-related symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Pukyong National University, Namku, Busan 608-737, South Korea.
authors.forename: Mohammed Nurul Absar
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Min-Chul
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Ji-Young
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Nam Gyu
authors.initials: NG
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fujii
authors.forename: Yong-Ki
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Hong
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D001808:Blood Vessels / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D004890:Erythema / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D007249:Inflammation / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D017078:Laser-Doppler Flowmetry; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D044648:Undaria / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid; C062895:stearidonic acid