title: The Effect of Artemisia fragrans Willd: Essential Oil on Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase Gene Expression and Nitric Oxide Production in Lipopolysaccharide-stimulated Murine Macrophage Cell Line.
abstract: The genus Artemisia is estimated to comprise over 800 species with anti-cancer, anti-fungal, anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Artemisia fragrans (A. fragrans), a species that belongs to genus Artemisia, is rich in monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes derivatives. Due to anti-inflammatory properties of monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes, we aimed to investigate the effect of A. fragrans essential oil on mRNA expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) gene and nitric oxide (NO) production in Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) -stimulated RAW264.7 cell line. NO, which is synthesized by iNOS, is the main macrophage-derived inflammatory mediator. The oil obtained from the A. fragrans was prepared from aerial parts of the plant. Chemical composition of essential oil was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS).The cytotoxicity of various concentrations of essential oil was evaluated by mitochondrial reduction of 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) test assay. The effect of different doses (1.75-7 mg/mL) of A. fragrans oil on mRNA expression of iNOS gene and NO production in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells was assessed by real-time PCR method and Griess reagent, respectively. In GC/MS analyses of A. fragrans oil, 32 compounds were identified. The main components of the oil were camphor and 1, 8-cineole. The results demonstrated that the essential oil of A. fragrans (1.75- 7 mg/mL), in a dose-dependent manner, inhibits mRNA expression of iNOS induced by LPS in the RAW264.7 cells without cytotoxic effect even at higher doses. The results of iNOS were consistent with the results of NO production. Our preliminary results suggest the possible anti-inflammatory effect of A. fragrans. Further studies are needed to determine the full pharmacokinetics of A. fragrans activity in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Resaerch Center, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran AND Student Research Committee, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran.
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Farghadan
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran.
authors.forename: Hosein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ghafoori
authors.affiliation: Human and Animal Cell Bank, Iranian Biological Resource Center (IBRC), ACECR, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Faezeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vakhshiteh
authors.affiliation: Human and Animal Cell Bank, Iranian Biological Resource Center (IBRC), ACECR, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Seyed Abolhassan
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Shahzadeh Fazeli
authors.affiliation: Human and Animal Cell Bank, Iranian Biological Resource Center (IBRC), ACECR, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Parvaneh
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Farzaneh
authors.affiliation: Cancer Resaerch Center, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran.
authors.forename: Parviz
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kokhaei
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019306:Artemisia; D002460:Cell Line; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000187:drug effects; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008264:Macrophages / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000378:metabolism*; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000494:pharmacology*; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D009822:Oils, Volatile; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II; C496317:Nos2 protein, mouse
keywords: Artemisia fragrans; Essential oils; Gene expression; Inflammation; Macroghage; Nitric Oxide synthase