title: Effect of Curculigo orchioides on reflux esophagitis by suppressing proinflammatory cytokines.
abstract: This study was performed to investigate effects of Curculigo orchioides rhizome (curculiginis rhizome) on acute reflux esophigitis (RE) in rats that are induced by pylorus and forestomach ligation operation. Proinflammatory cytokine, as well as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6 were all assayed and the expression of TNF-α and COX2 analyzed by RT-PCR. The esophagic tissue damage of reflux esophagitis rat was increased compared to that of normal intact group. However, the esophagic damage percentage from the extract of curculiginis rhizoma (ECR) 600 mg/kg and ECR 300 mg/kg were significantly lower than that of the RE control group. Administration of α-tocopherol (30 mg/kg) and ECR (600 mg/kg, 300 mg/kg, and 150 mg/kg) had a significant effect on the gastric acid pH in rats with induced reflux esophagitis (p < 0.05). The treatment with ECR significantly reduced the production of cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 levels compared to the model group (p < 0.05). The expression of TNF-α and COX2 in the intact esophageal mucosa was low while those of the RE control group were significantly higher due to an inflammatory reaction in the esophagus. Compare to the model group, treatment with α-tocopherol or ECR significantly inhibited the expression levels of COX2 and TNF-α in a dose-dependent manner. These results suggest that anti-inflammatory and protective effects of ECR could attenuate the severity of reflux esophagitis and prevent esophageal mucosal damage.
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology and Anatomy, College of Oriental Medicine, Daegu Haany University, Gyeongsan 712-715,  Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sae-Kang
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Ku
authors.forename: Jae-Soo
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Young-Bae
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Seo
authors.forename: Yong-Ung
authors.initials: YU
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Seung-Lark
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: Young-Chul
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Chae-Ha
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Hui-Young
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Bu-Il
authors.initials: BI
authors.lastname: Seo
authors.forename: Ji-Ha
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: You-Hong
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Min
authors.forename: Seong-Soo
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Roh
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D031408:Curculigo / Q000737:chemistry*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D017931:DNA Primers; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004942:Esophagitis, Peptic / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D018836:Inflammation Mediators / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D008297:Male; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D017931:DNA Primers; D018836:Inflammation Mediators; D010936:Plant Extracts