Inflammation is important and has been found to be an underlying cause in many acute and chronic human diseases. Nuciferine, a natural alkaloid containing an aromatic ring, is found in the nelumbo nucifera leaves. It has been shown to have potential anti-inflammatory activities, but the molecular mechanism has remained unclear. In this study, we found that nuciferine (10 μM) significantly inhibited the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory cytokine IL-6 and TNF-α production in RAW 264.7 cells. In addition, the luciferase reporter assay results of different subtypes of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) showed that nuciferine dose-dependently activated all the PPAR activities. Specific inhibitors of PPARα and PPARγ significantly abolished the production of inflammatory cytokines as well as IκBα degradation. However, PPARδ inhibitor did not show this effect. Our results suggested a potential molecular mechanism of the anti-inflammatory effects of nuciferine in LPS-induced inflammation, at least in part, by activating PPARα and PPARγ in RAW 264.7 cells.
Keywords: IL-6; PPARs; TNF-α; inflammation; nuciferine.