Antioxidative and Anti-inflammatory Activities of Litsea japonica Leaves

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

We investigated the antioxidative and anti-inflammatory properties of an 80% ethanol extract and solvent fractions of Litsea japonica leaves. The extract and the $CH_2Cl_2$, EtOAc, and BuOH fractions showed antioxidant potential, based on radical-scavenging activity. In LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells, the $CH_2Cl_2$ fractions inhibited nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin $E_2(PGE_2)$ production. Additionally, the $CH_2Cl_2$ fractions inhibited inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression. These results show that the $CH_2Cl_2$ fractions of L. japonica strongly inhibited the production of NO and $PGE_2$ and the induction of iNOS and COX-2 in LPS-stimulated cells. Thus, we propose that $CH_2Cl_2$ fractions may inhibit NO and $PGE_2$ production primarily through the regulation of iNOS and COX-2 gene expression. This study suggests the L. japonica may be a natural source of effective antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents.