Anti-inflammatory and immunoregulatory properties of fractions from Sargentodoxa cuneata ethanol extract

Sargentodoxa cuneata is widely used in the treatment of rheumatic arthritis in China. This study was conducted to investigate the anti-inflammatory and immunoregulatory activities of the ethanol extracts from S. cuneata and analyze the bioactive constituents. The ethyl acetate (ESCe), dichloromethane (ESCd) and aqueous (ESCa) fractions at a dose of 200 mg/kg significantly inhibited mice ear edema. Furthermore, the ethyl acetate (ESCe) and aqueous fractions (ESCa) inhibited rat paw edema, decreased the levels of Malondialdehyde (MDA) and biosynthesis of the prostaglandin (PGE2), increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, inhibited adjuvant arthritis (AA) rat paw edema, enhanced splenocyte proliferation and macrophage phagocytosis activity. ESCa at a dose of 50 mg/kg significantly suppressed IL-1β and TNF-α levels to 0.101 ng and 15.45 pg in each million macrophages. S. cuneata possessed anti-inflammatory and immunoregulatory activities, and phenolic compounds are the important bioactive constituents of this plant.   Key words: Sargentodoxa cuneata, anti-inflammatory, edema, immunoregulatory, total phenolics.