The present study was designed to elucidate the pharmacological and biological effects of Sargassum muticum extracts on the production of inflammatory mediators in macrophages. S. muticum was extracted with 80% EtOH. The extract was then successively partitioned with n-hexane, CH2Cl2, EtOAc, BuOH, and water. | Turk J Biol 34 (2010) 25-34 © TÜBİTAK doi: Brown alga Sargassum muticum inhibits proinflammatory cytokines, iNOS, and COX-2 expression in macrophage RAW cells Weon-Jong YOON1,2, Young Min HAM1,2, Wook Jae LEE1,2, Nam Ho LEE2,3, Chang-Gu HYUN1,2,* 1Research Group for Cosmetic Materials, Jeju Biodiversity Research Institute (JBRI), Jeju High-Tech Development Institute (HiDI), Jeju 699-943 - KOREA 2Jeju Seaweed Industry Development Agency and 3Department of Chemistry, Cheju National University, Jeju 690-756 - KOREA Received: Abstract: The present study was designed to elucidate the pharmacological and biological effects of Sargassum muticum extracts on the production of inflammatory mediators in macrophages. S. muticum was extracted with 80% EtOH. The extract was then successively partitioned with n-hexane, CH2Cl2, EtOAc, BuOH, and water. The results indicate that the CH2Cl2 fraction of S. muticum extract was an effective inhibitor of LPS-induced NO and PGE2 production in RAW cells. These inhibitory effects of the CH2Cl2 fraction of S. muticum included dose-dependent decreases in the expression of iNOS and COX-2 proteins and iNOS and COX-2 mRNA. To test the inhibitory effects of S. muticum fractions on other cytokines, we also measured IL-1β and IL-6 mRNA expression by RT-PCR in LPS-stimulated RAW macrophage cells. In these assays, the CH2Cl2 fraction of S. muticum decreased the expression of IL-1β and IL-6 mRNA in a dose-dependent manner. Based on these results, we suggest that S. muticum extracts may be considered possible antiinflammatory candidates for human health. Key words: Algae, extract, inflammation, Sargassum muticum Kahverengi alg Sargassum muticum RAW 264,7 makrofaj hücrelerindeki iltihaba sebep olan sitokinler, iNOS ve COX-2 ekspresyonunu engeller Özet: Bu çalışma makrofajlardaki iltihap iyileştiricilerin üretimi üzerine Sargassum muticum özütünün farmakolojik ve biyolojik etkilerini aydınlatmak için
