Anti-inflammatory effect of polyphenol-rich extract from the red alga Callophyllis japonica in lipopolysaccharide-induced RAW 264.7 macrophages

doi:2014.29.4.343

Algae > Volume 29(4); 2014 > Article

Algae 2014;29(4): 343-353. doi: https://doi.org/10.4490/algae.2014.29.4.343

BoMi Ryu¹, Il-Whan Choi², Zhong-Ji Qian³, Soo-Jin Heo⁴, Do-Hyung Kang⁴, Chulhong Oh⁴, You-Jin Jeon⁵, Chul Ho Jang⁶, Won Sun Park⁷, Kyong-Hwa Kang⁸, Jae-Young Je⁸, Se-Kwon Kim⁸, Young-Mog Kim⁹, Seok-Chun Ko¹⁰, GeunHyung Kim¹¹ and Won-Kyo Jung^12,*

¹School of Pharmacy, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
²Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine and Advanced Research Center for Multiple Myeloma, Inje University, Busan 614-735, Korea
³College of Food Science and Technology, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524088, China
⁴Global Bioresources Research Center, Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, Ansan 426-744, Korea
⁵Department of Marine Life Sciences, Jeju National University, Jeju 690-756, Korea
⁶Department of Otolaryngology, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju 501-746, Korea
⁷Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 200-701, Korea
⁸Department of Marine-bio Convergence Science, Pukyong National University, Busan 608-737, Korea
⁹Department of Food Science and Technology, Pukyong National University, Busan 608-737, Korea
¹⁰Institute of Marine Biotechnology, Pukyong National University, Busan 608-737, Korea
¹¹Department of Biomechatronic Engineering, College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 440-746, Korea
¹²Department of Biomedical Engineering and Centre for Marine-Integrated Biomedical Technology (BK21 Plus), Pukyong National University, Busan 608-737, Korea

*Corresponding Author

Email: wkjung@pknu.ac.kr

ABSTRACT

Despite the extensive literature on marine algae over the past few decades, a paucity of published research and studies exists on red algae. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential therapeutic properties of the ethanol extract of the red alga Callophyllis japonica against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated macrophage inflammation. The C. japonica extract (CJE) significantly inhibited the nitric oxide (NO) production and the induced dose-dependent reduction of the protein and mRNA levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2. Additionally, the CJE reduced the mRNA levels of inflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, and IL-6. We investigated the mechanism by which the CJE inhibits NO by examining the level of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) activation, which is an inflammation-induced signaling pathway in macrophages. The CJE significantly suppressed the LPS-induced phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase, extracellular signal-regulated kinase and p38 MAPK. Taken together, the results of this study demonstrate that the CJE inhibits LPS-induced inflammation by blocking the MAPK pathway in macrophages.

Key words: Callophyllis japonica; inflammation; macrophages; MAPKs