Bullatine A exerts anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting the ROS/JNK/NF-κB pathway and attenuating systemic inflammatory responses in mice.

CONTEXT: Aconiti brachypodi Radix (Xue-shang-yi-zhi-hao) is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine that is capable of anti-analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects. Bullatine A (BA) is one of the major active ingredients of this plant, and most of the previous studies reported that it has anti-analgesic effects. However, the mechanism of BA anti-inflammatory remains unclear.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigates the anti-inflammatory activities of BA, both in vitro and in vivo , and elucidates its mechanism.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: In vitro , BA (10, 20, 40 and 80 μM) was added to 1 µg/mL of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated microglia BV2 cells and immortalized murine bone marrow-derived macrophages, respectively. After 6 h, the mRNA and protein levels of inflammatory factors were determined by real-time quantitative PCR and western blotting. In vivo , C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into control, model (5 mg/kg dose of LPS) and treated groups (LPS with 5, 10 or 20 mg/kg dose of BA) to evaluate the anti-inflammatory efficacy of BA.

RESULTS: BA significantly inhibited LPS-induced expression of inflammatory factors, such as IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and COX-2. Further investigations showed that BA reduced the translocation of NF-κB p65 (38.5%, p  < 0.01). BA also reduced the phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) (11.2%, p  < 0.05) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation (24.2%, p  < 0.01). Furthermore, BA treatment attenuated the LPS-primed inflammatory response and liver and lung damage in vivo .

CONCLUSIONS: BA can inhibit the inflammatory response in part through the ROS/JNK/NF-κB signalling pathway, providing a theoretical basis for the clinical application of BA in the treatment of periphery inflammatory diseases.