Planta Med 2007; 73(3): 221-226
DOI: 10.1055/s-2007-967122
Original Paper
Pharmacology
© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Evaluation of the Anti-inflammatory Activity of Luteolin in Experimental Animal Models

Li Ziyan1 , Zhou Yongmei1 , Zhang Nan1 , Tang Ning1 , Liu Baolin1
  • 1Department of Pharmacology of Chinese Materia Medica, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, People’s Republic of China
Further Information

Publication History

Received: November 7, 2006

Accepted: January 10, 2007

Publication Date:
12 March 2007 (online)

Abstract

Luteolin, a flavonoid abundant in plants worldwide, demonstrates a spectrum of biological activities. This study is aimed at evaluating its inhibiting effects on inflammatory responses in vivo. We investigated the anti-inflammatory activity of luteolin in acute and chronic models in mice. We found that oral administration of luteolin (10 and 50 mg/kg) efficiently suppressed paw edema when induced by injecting carrageenan, and a similar tendency was also observed in the cotton pellet granuloma test. In the air pouch test, luteolin markedly reduced the number of infiltrated leukocytes and the elevated level of 6-keto-prostaglandin F (6-keto-PGF) in the exudate. The results derived from the whole blood assay for cyclooxygenase (COX) and from the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay indicate that luteolin may be a potent selective inhibitor of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and that the inhibition is attributable to its down-regulation of the mRNA expression of COX-2 in inflammatory responses.

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Liu Baolin

Department of Pharmacology of Chinese Materia Medica

China Pharmaceutical University

Shennong Road 1

Nanjing 210038

People’s Republic of China

Phone: +86-25-8532-2009

Email: cpupharmok@sina.com.cn