Anti-inflammatory activity of Motherwort (Leonurus sibiricus L.)

Abstract

Motherwort (MW), a Korean folk medicine, has been applied to treat inflammatory disease. However, its effect on inflammatory cytokine release from mast cells is not well known. We investigated the anti- inflammatory effect of MW on the secretion of inflammatory cytokine such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8 in human mast cell line (HMC-1). MW was treated in vitro before activation of HMC-1 cells with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) plus calcium ionophore A23187. MW had no cytotoxic effects on HMC-1 cell viability. MW (1 mg/ml) inhibited PMA plus A23187-stimulated gene expression and production of TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-8. Stimulation with PMA plus A23187 induced NF-κB activation in HMC-1 cells, which was inhibited by MW (1 mg/ml). MW inhibited secretion of TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-8 possibly by inhibiting NF-κB activation. These results indicate that MW may be helpful in regulating inflammatory diseases.

Keywords::

• Motherwort
• inflammatory cytokine
• NF-κB

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Korean Research Foundation Grant funded by the South Korean government (MOEHRD) (The Regional Research Universities Program/Center for Healthcare Technology Development), by the South Korean government (MOST) (No. M10646020001-06N4602-00110), and by the MRC program of MOST/KOSEF (grant #: R13-2005-013-01000-0).

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest.