Apigetrin is a glycosidic flavonoid derived from Teucrium gnaphalodes that has a wide range of biological activities, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer. Inflammation is a kind of defense mechanism in the body. Flavonoids are natural phytochemicals that exert anti-inflammatory effects in numerous cells. In the present study, we investigated the anti-inflammatory effect of apigetrin and its underlying mechanism of activity in skeletal muscle cells (L6). The determination of cytotoxicity was performed by MTT assay. We treated L6 cells with apigetrin, and nontoxic concentrations were chosen to perform further experimentation. Apigetrin inhibited the expression of iNOS and COX-2 induced by LPS in a dose-dependent manner. iNOS and COX-2 are inflammatory markers responsible for enhancing the inflammatory response. Apigetrin also inhibited the LPS-induced phosphorylation of p65 and IκB-α. NF-κB signaling regulates the inflammatory process by mediating various proinflammatory genes. Similarly, the MAPK signaling pathway consists of ERK, JNK, and p38, which plays a critical role in the production of cytokines and downstream signaling events leading to inflammation. Apigetrin significantly downregulated the phosphorylation of JNK and p38, but did not affect the phosphorylation of ERK in the LPS-stimulated cells. These findings indicate the correlation between the anti-inflammatory activity of NF-κB and the MAPK signaling pathway. Thus, our overall finding suggests that apigetrin has anti-inflammatory effects and it can be considered for further drug design on L6 skeletal muscle cells.
Keywords: L6; MAPK; NF-κB; anti-inflammation; apigetrin.