The anti-inflammatory effects of Caragana tangutica ethyl acetate extract

Ethnopharmacological relevance

Caragana tangutica KOM has been used to treat arthritis, wounds, fever and other disease conditions in traditional Chinese medicine (TMC). To support the application of the plant in traditional Chinese medicine by investigating the anti-inflammatory effects of the ethyl acetate extract of Caragana tangutica.

Materials and methods

The anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated by animal models including xylene-induced ear edema in mice, carrageenan-induced paw edema in rats, acetic acid induced writhing in mice and LPS-induced acute lung injury (ALI). The anti-inflammatory mechanism was evaluated by detecting prostaglandin E₂ and immunohistochemistry expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) using an EIA assay kit and immunohistochemistry, respectively.

Results

The results showed that the xylene-induced ear edema in mice was significantly reduced by the ethyl acetate extract at dosages of 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg, and the carrageenan-induced paw edema in rats was monitored to be reduced by the ethyl acetate extract 3 h after carrageenan injection. The ethyl acetate extract was also found to reduce the inflammation pain of acetic acid-induced writhing model in a dose-dependent manner and cause reduction of the ALI in mice through the inhibition of the release of PGE₂ and the LPS-induced COX-2 expression in the lung.

Conclusion

Our study demonstrates that the ethyl acetate extract of the plant can help to reduce inflammations by inhibiting the expression of COX-2.