Dioscoreae Rhizome (DR) has been used in traditional medicine to treat numerous diseases and is reported to have anti-diabetes and anti-tumor activities. To identify a bioactive traditional medicine with anti-inflammatory activity of a water extract of DR (EDR), we determined the mRNA and protein levels of proinflammatory cytokines in macrophages through RT-PCR and western blot analysis and performed a FACS analysis for measuring surface molecules. EDR dose-dependently decreased the production of NO and pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, and PGE(2), as well as mRNA levels of iNOS, COX-2, and pro-inflammatory cytokines, as determined by western blot and RT-PCR analysis, respectively. The expression of co-stimulatory molecules such as B7-1 and B7-2 was also reduced by EDR. Furthermore, activation of the nuclear transcription factor, NF-κB, but not that of IL-4 and IL-10, in macrophages was inhibited by EDR. These results show that EDR decreased pro-inflammatory cytokines via inhibition of NF-κB-dependent inflammatory protein level, suggesting that EDR could be a useful immunomodulatory agent for treating immunological diseases.
Keywords: Anti-inflammatory; Dioscoreae Rhizoma; Immunomodulatory agent; Inflammatory cytokines.