Anti-Inflammatory Effect of Chondrus nipponicus Yendo Ethanol Extract on Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Inflammatory Responses in RAW 264.7 Cells

The anti-inflammatory activity of ethanol extract from Chondrus nipponicus Yendo (CNYEE) was investigated by measuring production of a lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammatory response mediator. CNYEE had no cytotoxic effects on proliferation of macrophages compared to the control. CNYEE significantly inhibited (over 50%) NO production at , with inhibitory effects on expression levels of cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor- (TNF-), and IL-. In particular, IL-6 inhibitory activity of CNYEE was higher than 70% at . CNYEE also reduced protein expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and nuclear factor (NF)- in a dose-dependent manner. CNYEE also significantly reduced phosphorylation of p38, extracellular signal-regulated kinase, and c-Jun N-terminal kinase. Therefore, these results suggest that CNYEE may have anti-inflammatory effects by modulating the NF- and mitogen-activated protein kinases signaling pathways and may be used as an anti-inflammatory therapeutic material.