Evaluation of in vitro anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of Korean and Chinese Lonicera caerulea. - GreenMedInfo Summary

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The honeysuckle berry (HB) contains ascorbic acid and phenolic components, especially anthocyanins, flavonoids, and low-molecular-weight phenolic acids. In order to examine the potential of HB as a hepatoprotective medicinal food, we evaluated theanti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of Korean HB (HBK) and Chinese HB (HBC).

MATERIALS/METHODS: Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of the extracts were examined in HepG2 and RAW 264.7 cells, respectively. The anti-oxidant capacity was determined by DPPH, SOD, CAT, and ARE luciferase activities. The production of nitric oxide (NO) as an inflammatory marker was also evaluated. The-mediated mRNA levels of heme oxygenase-1 (), NAD(P)H dehydrogenase [quinone] 1 (), and glutamate-cysteine ligase catalytic subunit () were measured. The concentrations of HB extracts used were 3, 10, 30, 100, and 300µg/mL.

RESULTS: The radical scavenging activity of all HB extracts increased in a concentration-dependent manner (<0.01 or<0.05). SOD (<0.05) and CAT (<0.01) activities were increased by treatment with 300µg/mL of each HB extract, when compared to those in the control. NO production was observed in cells pretreated with 100 or 300 µg/mL of HBC and HBK (<0.01). Treatment with 300µg/mL of HBC significantly increased(<0.01) and(<0.05) mRNA levels compared to those in the control. Treatment with 300µg/mL of HBK (<0.05) and HBC (<0.01) also significantly increased themRNA level compared to that in the control.

CONCLUSIONS: Thus, the Korean and Chinese HBs were found to possess favorableanti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activities.and its related anti-oxidant genes were associated with both anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activities in HB-treated cells. Further studies are needed to confirm theseeffects.