Inhibition of soluble epoxide hydrolase by extracts derived from inflammation-treating Chinese medicinal herbs.
Soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) has been proved to be a key enzyme involved in inflammation progression, and inhibition of sEH is therefore very helpful or crucial for the treatment of inflammation-related diseases. In order to uncover new clues suggesting the presence of phytochemical-based sEH inhibitors, and to rationalize the utility of the inflammation-treating Chinese medicinal herbs, the ethanol extracts derived from 46 medicinal herbs, traditionally used for the treatment of inflammation-associated diseases in China, were tested for sEH-inhibition activity using a recently developed sensitive fluorescence-based assay. Screened at 10 microg/mL, four extracts showed substantial inhibitions of sEH (inhibition rates >50%). The ethanol extract of Sophora flavescens root (Fabaceae) possessed the strongest inhibitory activity against sEH (IC(50): 2.07 microg/mL). These preliminary findings highlighted the presence of sEH inhibitor(s) in the plant kingdom, and the possibility that the inflammation-treating herbal medicines could be an untapped reservoir for sEH-inhibition agents.
Shi
Da-Hua
DH
Institute of Functional Biomolecules, State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, People's Republic of China.
Xu
Chen
C
Guo
Bin-Xin
BX
Wang
Xiao-Ting
XT
Chen
Yun-Xi
YX
Tan
Ren-Xiang
RX
D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004851:Epoxide Hydrolases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000188:drug therapy*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use
D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D010936:Plant Extracts; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D004851:Epoxide Hydrolases