Da Hye Kim

Natural Products as a Source of Anti-Inflammatory Agents Associated with Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Accumulating epidemiological and clinical study indicates that inflammation is a significant risk factor to develop various human diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), chronic asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and psoriasis. Suppressing inflammation is therefore important to control or prevent various diseases. Among them, IBD is one of the major problems affecting people worldwide. IBD affects at least one in a thousand persons in many Western countries. Various natural products have been shown to safely suppress pro-inflammatory pathway and control IBD. In vivo and/or in vitro studies indicate that anti-IBD effects of natural products occur by inhibition of the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines (for example, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), intercellular adhesion molecule expression and pro-inflammatory mediators (such as inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2), master transcription factors (such as nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB)), reactive oxygen species (ROS) and by improving the antioxidant activity. In this review, we summarize recent research focused on IBD and the effects that natural products have on IBD factors.

Anti-Oxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Inonotus obliquus and Germinated Brown Rice Extracts

Inonotus obliquus (IO) is parasitic mushroom that grows on birch and other trees in Russia, Korea, Europe and United States. However, IO is not readily available for consumption due to its high cost and difficult growth. In this regard, IO was inoculated on germinated brown rice (GBR) in the present study and the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of the IO grown on germinated brown rice (IOGBR) extracts were evaluated extensively and compared with those for IO and GBR. IOGBR showed highest antioxidant activities with scavenging total intracellular ROS and MDA levels as well as increasing the antioxidant enzymes activity in the H2O2-stimulated mice liver. It also exhibited best inflammatory activities by suppressing the proinflammatory mediators such as NO, PGE2, iNOS, COX-2, TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 in an LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cell line. This study provides a comparative approach to find out an excellent natural source of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agent as a dietary supplement.

Chaga mushroom (Inonotus obliquus) grown on germinated brown rice suppresses inflammation associated with colitis in mice

The aim of this study was to evaluate the antiinflammatory activity of ethanol extracts from chaga mushroom (Inonotus obliquus, IOE) grown on germinated brown rice. A total of 35 male BALB/c mice were divided into 5 treatment groups and given a commercial diet (A), IOE administration (B), dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) treatment to induce colitis (C), IOE administration+DSSinduced colitis (D), and sulfasalazine administration+ DSS-induced colitis (E). IOE treatment (D) decreased the expression of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, cyclooxygenase (COX)-2, interleukin (IL)-4, interferon (IFN)-γ, signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT)1, and STAT6 and showed lower levels of immunoglobulin (Ig)E and IgA in the spleen and mesenteric lymph node (MLN) compared to those of the DSS-induced colitis group (C). In addition, IOE suppressed the DSS-induced colonic tissue destruction. Therefore, our data strongly suggests that IOE could be a potent anti-inflammatory agent.

DNA Protection and Antioxidant and Anti-inflammatory Activities of Water Extract and Fermented Hydrolysate of Abalone (Haliotis discus hannai Ino)

Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of water extract and fermented hydrolysate of abalone (Haliotis discus hannai Ino) were examined. Experimental models were used to characterize the antioxidant activities, which were compared with the standard antioxidants α-tocoferol and EDTA (ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid). Antioxidant activities of water extract and fermented hydrolysate were examined at the cellular level and evaluated for anti-inflammatory activities in LPS (lipopolysaccharides)-stimulated murine RAW 264.7 macrophages. Production of the pro-inflammatory mediators nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin (PGE2) was significantly (p<0.05) inhibited by treatments with abalone water extract and fermented hydrolysate, compared with controls. Abalone (Haliotis discus hannai Ino) can be considered as a potential source of natural antioxidants and dietary supplements.