Anti-inflammatory activities of tormentic acid from suspension cells of Eriobotrya Japonica ex vivo and in vivo

Anti-inflammatory effects of tormentic acid (TA) were investigated ex vivo and in vivo. TA decreased the paw edema at the 4th and 5th hour after λ-carrageenin (Carr) administration, and increased the activities of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) in the liver tissue. TA also significantly attenuated the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) level in the edematous paw at the 5th hour after Carr injection. TA decreased the nitric oxide (NO) levels on the serum level and diminished the serum tumour necrosis factor (TNF-α) at the 5th hour after Carr injection. Western blotting revealed that the TA decreased Carr-induced inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expressions. As per results, the anti-inflammatory mechanisms of TA might be correlated to the decrease in the level of TBARS, iNOS, and COX-2 in the edema paw via increasing the activities of CAT, SOD, and GPx in the liver.