title: Anti-inflammatory effect of Rhus verniviflua Stokes by suppression of iNOS-mediated Akt and ERK pathways: in-vitro and in-vivo studies.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Rhus verniciflua Stokes (RVS), which has valuable medicinal properties, has for many years been prescribed for inflammation in east Asian medicine. Recent studies suggest that RVS has potent antioxidative, antitumor and anti-inflammatory properties.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this study, the anti-inflammatory effects of RVS in vitro and in vivo were investigated. The ethanol extract from RVS was partitioned with different solvents in order of increasing polarity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among the various extracts, the n-butanol extract displayed the most potent activity against nitric oxide and reactive oxygen species. The n-butanol extract also significantly regulates expression of nitric oxide synthase, which inhibits nitric oxide production at the transcriptional level in activated macrophages. Immunoblot analysis also showed that n-butanol extract suppresses the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase and Akt, suggesting that nitric oxide synthase suppression might be mediated via the extracellular signal-regulated kinase and Akt signaling pathways. This study also investigated whether n-butanol exerts an anti-inflammatory effect in an animal model. n-butanol extract significantly reduces carrageenan-induced mouse paw edema at 5 h.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that RVS could be a promising candidate agent for inflammation prevention and combination therapy with anti-inflammatory drugs.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Clinical Biology and Pharmacogenomics, College of Oriental Medicine, Kyunghee University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Chang Hwa
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Jeong-Hyun
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Ji Hye
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Joo Hee
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Han-Seok
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Jong Bok
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Seo
authors.forename: Yong-Cheol
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Sung-Hoon
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Seong-Gyu
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Ko
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002351:Carrageenan; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004487:Edema / Q000188:drug therapy; D048049:Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D008264:Macrophages / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D010766:Phosphorylation; D008517:Phytotherapy; D024301:Plant Bark; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D029045:Rhus; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D010936:Plant Extracts; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D002351:Carrageenan; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D048049:Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases