Anti-inflammatory effects of the methanol extract of Sedum telephium ssp. maximum in lipopolysaccharide- stimulated rat peritoneal macrophages.

Sedum telephium ssp. maximum is a medicinal plant that possesses anti-inflammatory, analgesic and keratolytic properties. We investigated the anti-inflammatory activity of its methanolic extract (STME) in rat peritoneal macrophages (MPhis) stimulated with lipopolysaccharide from Salmonella enteritidis. After stimulation with 10 microg/ml of LPS, MPhis were coincubated with different doses of STME (8, 16 and 32 microg/ml) or RPMI medium alone using different times of incubation. STME reduced levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, both mRNA and its protein, and significantly decreased IL-1beta and IL-6 production. Moreover, STME inhibited inducible nitric oxide synthase expression and blunted nitrite release and inhibited both extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 and c-Jun N-terminal kinase activation in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated MPhis. Data show that STME might be useful as a potential anti-inflammatory agent.