Effect of Water Extract of Peonia Suffruticosa and Prunus Percica on Anti-inflammation

Paeonia Suffruticosa and Prunus Persica have been used as oriental medicine for removal of fever, alleviation of pain, an anti-phlogistic effect and removal of extravasated blood. However, it has been never shown the effects of these herbal medicines on anti-inflammatory processes. This experiment was performed to show how these herbs could act as anti-inflammatory medicines at cellular level. Anti-inflammation effects of water extracts from Paeonia Suffruticosa and Prunus Persica as well as their mixture have been investigated, and the results were follows; 1) each extract slightly suppressed the expression and production of inflammatory mediators and enzymes such as NO, iNOS, IL-, and TNF- in lipopolysaccharid(LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 cells and mouse primary peritoneal macrophages in a dose-dependent manner. These suppressive effects, however, were synergistically increased by their mixture. 2) Each extract of Paeonia Suffruticosa and Prunus Persica insignificantly suppressed the activation and activity of NF- in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells, which controls the expression of inflammatory mediators such as NO, iNOS, IL-, and TNF-. However, extract mixture of Paeonia Suffruticosa and Prunus Persica suppressed effectively the activation and activity of NF-. 3) Each of Paeonia Suffruticosa and Prunus Persica induced translocation of NF- to the nucleus from the cytosol and DNA-binding activity of nuclear NF- in LPS-activated RAW264.7 cells. The extract mixture of Paeonia Suffruticosa and Prunus Persica showed more significant suppression of the NF- translocation and its DNA-binding activity, as compared to those of the each extract. These results suggest that the extract mixture of Paeonia Suffruticosa and Prunus Persica may affect different control mechanisms for NF- activation and the expression and production of NF--dependent inflammatory mediators, indicating that this extract mixture may be useful for treatment of inflammatory diseases.