Inhibition of inducible nitric oxide synthase in vitro and in vivo by a water-soluble extract of Wendita calysina leaves

Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol. 2007 Aug;375(6):349-58. doi: 10.1007/s00210-007-0175-5. Epub 2007 Jul 7.

Abstract

Wendita calysina is a Paraguayan herbaceous plant commonly known as burrito. Our previous study indicated that burrito leaves are a very good source of phenylpropanoid glycosides, principally verbascoside. From W. calysina leaves, a standardized, water-soluble extract (WSE) rich in phenylpropanoid glycosides has been developed on an industrial scale to be used as a food supplement, cosmetic, phytomedicine, and ingredient of different formulations. In this study, we investigated the effect of the W. calysina WSE both in vitro in murine macrophage cell line J774.A1 stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and, in vivo in an animal model of acute inflammation, carrageenan-induced pleurisy. Here we report that W. calysina WSE (0.05, 0.1, and 0.5 mg/ml) inhibited inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression and activity in LPS-stimulated J774.A1. In vivo experiments showed that injection of carrageenan (2%) into the pleural cavity of rats elicited an acute inflammatory response characterized by iNOS expression, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) up-regulation, nitrotyrosine and poly (ADP-ribose) synthase (PARS) formation, and lung tissue damage-all parameters significantly reduced by W. calysina WSE (500 mg/kg per os). These results report, for the first time, that a treatment with W. calysina WSE exerts anti-inflammatory effects both in vitro and in vivo.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents / isolation & purification
  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents / pharmacology*
  • Carrageenan
  • Cell Line
  • Cell Survival / drug effects
  • Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
  • Exudates and Transudates / cytology
  • Exudates and Transudates / metabolism
  • Geraniaceae / chemistry*
  • In Vitro Techniques
  • Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 / biosynthesis
  • Lipopolysaccharides / pharmacology
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Neutrophils / pathology
  • Nitric Oxide / biosynthesis
  • Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II / biosynthesis
  • Plant Extracts / isolation & purification
  • Plant Extracts / pharmacology
  • Plant Leaves / chemistry*
  • Pleurisy / chemically induced
  • Pleurisy / metabolism
  • Pleurisy / pathology
  • Poly Adenosine Diphosphate Ribose / metabolism
  • Rats
  • Rats, Sprague-Dawley
  • Tyrosine / analogs & derivatives
  • Tyrosine / biosynthesis

Substances

  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents
  • Lipopolysaccharides
  • Plant Extracts
  • Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1
  • Poly Adenosine Diphosphate Ribose
  • Nitric Oxide
  • 3-nitrotyrosine
  • Tyrosine
  • Carrageenan
  • Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II