Anti-inflammatory and anticancer effects of methanol, ethanol and water extracts of Asiasarum heterotropoide

The radix of Asiasarum heterotropoides var. mandshuricum F. Maekawa (A. radix) is called seshin in Korean, saishin in Japanese, xì xīn in Chinese and Chinese wild ginger in English and is widely used to treat various diseases. The aim of this study was to determine the dose-dependent anti- inflammatory and anticancer effects using methanol, ethanol and water extracts of A. radix. Methanol, ethanol and water extracts of Asiasarum heterotropoides were obtained. A mouse leukaemic monocyte macrophage cell line (RAW 264.7) was exposed to A. radix at final concentrations that ranged from 25 to 200 μg/ml. The production of nitric oxide (NO) in lipopolysaccharide-induced RAW 264.7 cells was quantified. The inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and cycloxygenase-2 (COX-2) mRNA expressions were evaluated using lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells with semi-quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Human lung carcinoma cell lines (A549 cells) were treated with A. radix and superoxide dismutase-2 (SOD-2), and caspase-3 expression was tested. Higher cytotoxicity was noted after treatment with methanol, ethanol and water extracts of A. radix. Stimulation with LPS for 24 h led to a robust increase in NO production, but A. radix significantly suppressed NO by the LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells in all groups. Pretreatment with absolute ethanol extract of A. radix suppressed the LPS-stimulated iNOS, IL-1β, IL-6, and COX-2 expressions. The results showed that A. radix extract showed significantly higher cytotoxicity when compared with the untreated control. The expression of SOD-2 and caspase-3 increased with the increase of exposure time to A. radix extracts. Within the limits of this study, A. radix showed an anti-inflammatory effect using RAW 264.7 cell lines and anticancer effects on A549 cells. These effects were influenced by extraction methods. Absolute ethanol extract showed the highest anti-inflammatory and anticancer effects in these experimental settings.