Anti-inflammatory and Anti-bacterial Activities of Artemisia iwayomogi Kitamura Extract Fractions

This study investigated the anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory activities of Artemisia iwayomogi Kitamura for medical and food additive applications. A 70% methanol extract of A. iwayomogi Kitam. was fractionated with a series of solvents in order of increasing polarity; these fractionated extracts showed high 2,2-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS) scavenging activity in the ethyl acetate fractions and high 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity in both the ethyl acetate and chloroform fractions. Levels of total phenolics and flavonoids were highest in the ethyl acetate fraction extracts. Eight bacteria were then treated with the A. iwayomogi Kitam. extract fractions and most showed similar or lower levels of anti-bacterial activity when compared to the control group, except for Staphylococcus aureus. In addition, the anti-oxidant activities of the ethyl acetate fractions of the A. iwayomogi Kitam. extract were higher than those of the other fractions. To confirm the anti-inflammatory activity of the extract fractions, we applied them to RAW 264.7 cells using LPS, and the results indicate that an ethyl acetate fraction at 250 μg/ml concentration inhibits nitric oxide production. This study demonstrates that an ethyl acetate fraction of A. iwayomogi Kitam. extract inhibits bacterial and inflammatory activities and could be useful as a potential source of bioactive compounds.