Abstract

Two isoforms of cyclooxygenase (COX) have been identified - COX-1, which is constitlitively expressed in most tissues, and the inducible form, COX-2, of which expression is induced by inflammatory signals and mitogens. It has been considered that the beneficial effects of NSAIDs are due to the inhibition of COX-2 activity and the side effects are from the inhibition of COX-1 activity. Therefore, it is essential to develop selective COX-2 inhibitor for developing new GI-tolerable NSAIDS. To discover new leads for developing selective COX-2 inhibitors, three-hundred extracts of natural products were primarily screened with the system of prostaglandin accumulation in LPS-stimulated mouse peritoneal macrophages. To identify whether these inhibitory activities of crude extracts on the accumulation of Prostaglandins were derived from direct action against COX-2, the effects of selected extracts on exogenous arachidonic acid-derived production of prostaglandins by LPS-stimulated macrophages were determined. Among them, 5 methanol extracts of natural products, such as Zingiberis Rhizoma, Alpinae Officinarum Rhizoma, Caryophilli Flos, Scutellariae Radix, Dalbergia ordorifera. inhibited more than 70% of the prostaglandin production in LPS-stimulated mouse peritoneal macrophages at a con-centration of 1${\mu}$g/ml.

Keywords

• Prostaglandins;
• cyclooxygenase-2;
• macrophage;
• natural products