Full Length Research Paper

Abstract

Of a selected 29 plants endemic to Lebanon and claimed to have anti-inflammatory effects, according to Lebanese folk literature, Centaurea ainetensis was chosen to further characterize its claimed anti-inflammatory activity using in-vitro and in-vivo assays. Water extract from C. ainetensis, at non-cytotoxic concentrations, inhibited in a dose dependant manner interleukin-6 (IL-6) and gelatinases A and B produced by endotoxin (ET)-treated CID-9 cells grown in conditions that favor differentiation, on EHS-drip, at 9, 24 and 48 h post ET treatment. The inhibition was detected in doses as low as 3% (of a 1:8 decoction) and reached maximal levels of inhibition at 8% similar to control non ET-treated cells. C. ainetensis extract at these concentrations did not affect CID-9 cell’s expression of β-casein, a milk protein expressed by functionally differentiated mammary cells in culture. In vivo studies showed that C. ainetensis extract reversed ET-induced paw edema and thermal hyperalgesia in rats as demonstrated by hot plate and heat hyperalgesia pain tests.

Key words: Inflammation, IL-6, gelatinases, mammary cells, Centaurea ainetensis.