Bulnesia Sarmienti Aqueous Extract Inhibits Inflammation in LPS-Stimulated RAW 264.7 Cells

Bulnesia sarmienti (BS), a traditional South American herbal medicine native to Gran Chaco, has been used to treat various human ailments. We investigated the cytotoxic activities and the inhibitory effects of BS bark extract(0, 50, 100 and ) on the production of nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin (), cyclooxygenase (COX) and proinflammatory cytokines (, IL-6 and ) in the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (100 ng/ml)-stimulated murine macrophage cell line RAW264.7. The levels of NO, COX, PGE2 production and proinflammatory cytokines (, IL-6 and ) were measured by ELISA kit. Cell viability, as measured by the MTT assay, showed that BS extract had no significant cytotoxicity in RAW264.7 cells. BS extract significantly inhibited the LPS-induced NO, and COX production accompanied by an attenuation of , IL-6 and formation in macrophages. These results suggest that BS extract has potential as an herbal medicine for the treatment of inflammatory diseases.