Modified Si-Miao-San extract inhibits the release of inflammatory mediators from lipopolysaccharide-stimulated mouse macrophages

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Modified Si-Miao-San (mSMS) is a prescription modified from Si-Miao-San which is an ancient Chinese prescription used to treat various ailments. Aim of the study: Modified Si-Miao-San (mSMS) has been used for the treatment of infectious and inflammatory disorders in the clinic. This study was aimed to investigate its anti-inflammatory activity and underlying mechanism at cellular and molecular levels. Materials and methods: We stimulated RAW264.7 cells with Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and observed effects of mSMS on the release of inflammatory mediators such as: tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-6 (IL-6), NO, and relative gene expressions. Meanwhile, we also investigated the modulation of mSMS in inflammatory signal transduction mediated through extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK) and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappa B) pathway. Results: Our findings demonstrated that mSMS significantly inhibited the excessive production of NO, TNF-alpha and IL-6 and the over expression of relative genes in LPS-stimulated macrophages. In addition, mSMS suppressed LPS-induced ERK1/2-phosphorylation and inhibited the activation of NF-kappa B by attenuation of I kappa B-alpha degradation. Conclusions: Our results suggest that the anti-inflammatory properties of mSMS might result from the inhibition of inflammatory mediators, such as NO, TNF-alpha and IL-6, via suppression of ERK and NF-kappa B dependent pathways. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.