Anti-inflammatory activity of Taraxacum officinale

J Ethnopharmacol. 2008 Jan 4;115(1):82-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2007.09.006. Epub 2007 Sep 15.

Abstract

Taraxacum officinale has been widely used as a folkloric medicine for the treatment of diverse diseases. The dried plant was extracted with 70% ethanol to generate its ethanol extract (TEE). For some experiments, ethyl acetate (EA), n-butanol (BuOH) and aqueous (Aq) fractions were prepared in succession from TEE. TEE showed a scavenging activity in the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay, a diminishing effect on intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) level, and an anti-angiogenic activity in the chicken chorioallantoic (CAM) assay. In the carrageenan-induced air pouch model, TEE inhibited production of exudate, and significantly diminished nitric oxide (NO) and leukocyte levels in the exudate. It also possessed an inhibitory effect on acetic acid-induced vascular permeability and caused a dose-dependent inhibition on acetic acid-induced abdominal writhing in mice. Suppressive effects of TEE on the production of NO and expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated macrophages were also assessed. Among the fractions, the n-butanol fraction (BuOH) was identified to be most effective in the CAM assay. Collectively, Taraxacum officinale contains anti-angiogenic, anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive activities through its inhibition of NO production and COX-2 expression and/or its antioxidative activity.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Angiogenesis Inhibitors / administration & dosage
  • Angiogenesis Inhibitors / chemistry
  • Angiogenesis Inhibitors / pharmacology*
  • Animals
  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents / administration & dosage
  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents / chemistry
  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents / pharmacology*
  • Antioxidants / administration & dosage
  • Antioxidants / chemistry
  • Antioxidants / pharmacology
  • Chick Embryo
  • Chorioallantoic Membrane / blood supply
  • Chorioallantoic Membrane / drug effects
  • Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
  • Free Radicals / metabolism
  • Leukocytes / drug effects
  • Leukocytes / metabolism
  • Male
  • Medicine, Traditional
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred ICR
  • Nitric Oxide / metabolism
  • Pain / drug therapy
  • Plant Extracts / administration & dosage
  • Plant Extracts / chemistry
  • Plant Extracts / pharmacology*
  • Rats
  • Rats, Sprague-Dawley
  • Reactive Oxygen Species / metabolism
  • Taraxacum / chemistry*

Substances

  • Angiogenesis Inhibitors
  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents
  • Antioxidants
  • Free Radicals
  • Plant Extracts
  • Reactive Oxygen Species
  • Nitric Oxide