Anti-inflammatory Effect of Combination of Scutellariae Radix and Lonicerae Caulis Water Extract

This study aimed at examining the anti-inflammatory effects of Scutellariae Radix & Lonicerae Caulis water extract(SC). RAW 264.7 mouse macrophage cells were treated with 25∼200μg/ml SC for 24 hours. Cell viability was then measured using MTT assays. The nitric oxide(NO) production and the creation of several cytokines in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells were investigated. SC inhibited significantly increasing the production of NO in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cell at the density of 25, 50 and 200 μg/ml. SC inhibited significantly the TNF-α of the RAW 264.7 cell induced by LPS at the density of 50μg/ml. SC inhibited significantly the MIP-1α of the RAW 264.7 cell induced by LPS at the density of 25, 50 and 100μg/ml. SC inhibited significantly the MIP-1β, MIP-2 at the density of 50, 100μg/ml in the RAW 264.7 cell increased by LPS, respectively. SC did not affect the production levels of VEGF in RAW 264.7 cell. As a result, SC significantly inhibited the inductions of MIP-1α, MIP-1β, MIP-2 and NO in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cell without causing the toxicity. These results signify that SC has anti-inflammatory effects on controlling the over inflammatory reaction on the RAW 264.7 cell. 