In this study, we investigated the anti-inflammatory effect of litsenolide A2 (LNA2) isolated from L. japonica fruit and its mechanism of action in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells. LPS-induced production of anti-inflammatory mediators and cytokines such as NO, PGE2, iNOS, COX-2, TNF-α, and IL-6 was significantly inhibited by LNA2. Next, western blot experiments were performed to investigate the mechanism of action of the anti-inflammatory effect of LNA2. The results indicated that LNA2 markedly reduced the LPS-induced activation of NF-κB and the nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65. Furthermore, LNA2 also inhibited the phosphorylation of MAPK by LPS. LNA2 was the major component in the ethanol extract of L. japonica at 59 mg/g according to high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). These results indicate that LNA2 can be used as a functional and marker compound for standardization of the manufacturing process when L. japonica fruit is used as a functional food.
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