Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Paprika Fruit and Leaf through Heme Oxygenase-1 Induction in RAW264.7 Macrophages

摘要

The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of paprika were investigated by analyzing, a 70% ethanol (EtOH) extract of red, orange, and yellow paprika fruits and leaf that was sequentially fractionated into hexane, chloroform (CHCI3), and ethyl acetate (EtOAc) fractions. The anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects were in the order of EtOAc> CHCl3> 70% EtOH> hexane, and red> orange> yellow fruits; the effects of the leaf was as high as that of red fruit. No cytotoxicity was observed at levels under 100 ug/mL. Therefore, further anti-inflammatory experiments using RT-PCR and western blot analysis were conducted using red paprika and leaf EtOAc fractions under 100 ug/mL. The red paprika and leaf EtOAc fractions suppressed the expression of proteins, such as inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2 and the expression of inflammatory mediators, such as tumor necrosis factor-a and interleukin-6, and increased the expression of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in a dose-dependent manner in a macrophage RAW264.7 stimulated by lipopolysaccharide using RT-PCR. According to western blot analysis, the expression of HO-1 was observed in a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner, which confirmed the anti-inflammatory effects of HO-1. Overall, the EtOAc fractions of red paprika fruit and leaf had anti-inflammatory and cytoprotective effects through the expression of HO-1 in a RAW264.7 cell. Moreover, they might be used as health food ingredients to prevent chronic diseases according to the inflammatory response.