인진 추출물의 소염진통작용

The Anti-inflammatory and Analgesic Activities of Artemisia capillaris Thunberg

Inflammatory mediators such as interleukin-1 (IL-1), tumor necrosis $factor-{\alpha}\;(TNF-{\alpha}),\;interferon-{\gamma}\;(IFN-{\gamma})$ and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) are thought to play major roles in joint diseases such as a rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and there is considerable evidence playing a role for these cytokines in osteoarthritis (OA). Therefore, we have studied the effects on anti-inflammation and analgesic by ethyl acetate fraction from 70% ethanol extract of Artemisia capillaries (EAC). As a positive control, apigenin, which is known as an anti-inflammatory agent as an iNOS inhibitor, was used and showed the dose-dependent inhibitory effect. EAC showed strong inhibitory efficacy against cytokine-induced proteoglycan degradation, $PGE_2$ production, nitric oxide (NO) production, and matrix-matalloproteinases (MMPs) expression in rabbit articular chondrocyte. In the writhing test induced by acetic acid, EAC $(200{\sim}400\;mg/kg)$ exhibited a dose-dependent inhibition of writhing. The results indicate that EAC have anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities, and could be a good herbal medicine candidate for curing of RA and/or OA.