Planta Med 2011; 77 - PM156
DOI: 10.1055/s-0031-1282914

Screening of Anti-inflammatory Activity of Natural Products through A Panel of Target Based Assays

A Nalbantsoy 1, 2, I Khan 2, 3, S Khan 2, 3, 4
  • 1Ege University, Faculty of Engineering, Bioengineering Department, 35100 Bornova, Izmir, Turkey
  • 2National Center for Natural Products Research, Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences
  • 3Department of Pharmacognosy, The University of Mississippi, MS, 38677, USA
  • 4Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, 11451 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Inflammation is considered as a risk factor for several types of cancers, obesity and metabolic disorders. Chronic inflammation has been linked to various steps involved in tumorigenesis, including cellular transformation, promotion, survival, proliferation, invasion, angiogenesis, metastasis and found to mediate a wide variety of diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, Alzheimer's disease, pulmonary diseases, and autoimmune diseases [1–3]. Phytochemicals such as curcumin, genistein, resveratrol, 6-gingerol and saponins are believed to suppress the inflammatory process and are considered as protective agents against cancer and other chronic diseases [4].

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are widely used in the treatment of inflammatory diseases. Activation of the NAG-1 gene is involved in the action of NSAIDS and has been associated with the apoptotic elimination of cancer cells [5]. NF-kB and iNOS are also considered as important targets for inflammation [1,5]. A collection of standard compounds known for anti-inflammatory activity (curcumin, genistein, resveratrol, berberine, parthenolide, quercetin, aspirin, diclorofenac, ibuprofen, indomethacin, ciglitazone, rosiglitazone) were screened through a panel of assays that can determine the activity of these targets in various cell lines. Genistein, parthenolide, rosiglitazone, berberine, curcumin and quercetin inhibited iNOS activity in mouse macrophages whereas ciglitazone, parthenolide, resveratrol, curcumin and quercetin inhibited NF-kB mediated transcriptional activity in human chondrosarcoma cells. Genistein, ibuprofen, diclorofenac and resveratrol induced NAG-1 expression in human colon cancer cells. These assays were utilized to screen the anti-inflammatory activity of some selected medicinal plant extracts. The results will be presented.

Keywords: Anti-inflammatory Activity, Natural Products, Target Based Assays

Acknowledgement: The Council of Higher Education (YOK) from Turkey and USDA-ARS specific cooperative agreement no 58–6408–2-0009 are acknowledged for support of this work.

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5. Baek SJ et al. (2005) Mol Pharmacol 67: 356–364.