The root bark of Cudrania tricuspidata has been reported to have anti-sclerotic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, neuroprotective, hepatoprotective, and cytotoxic activities. In the present study, the effect of 16 compounds from C. tricuspidata on tumor necrosis factor-α+interferon-γ-treated HaCaT cells were investigated. Among these 16 compounds, 11 decreased IL-6 production and 15 decreased IL-8 production. The six most effective compounds, namely, steppogenin (2), cudraflavone C (6), macluraxanthone B (12), 1,6,7-trihydroxy-2-(1,1-dimethyl-2-propenyl)-3- methoxyxanthone (13), cudraflavanone B (4), and cudratricusxanthone L (14), were selected for further experiments. These six compounds decreased the expression levels of chemokines, such as regulated on activation, normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES) and thymus and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC), and downregulated the protein expression levels of intercellular adhesion molecule-1. Compounds 2, 6, 12, 4, and 14 inhibited nuclear factor-kappa B p65 translocation to the nucleus; however, compound 13 showed no significant effects. In addition, extracellular signal regulatory kinase-1/2 phosphorylation was only inhibited by compound 14, whereas p38 phosphorylation was inhibited by compounds 13 and 4. Taken together, the compounds from C. tricuspidata showed potential to be further developed as therapeutic agents to suppress inflammation in skin cells.
Keywords: Cudrania tricuspidata; HaCaT; ICAM-1; NF-κB; inflammation.