Background: Ganghwaljetongyeum (GHJTY) is a complex herbal decoction comprising 18 plants; it is used to treat\narthritis. In order to develop a new anti-arthritic herbal medication, we selected 5 out of 18 GHJTY plants by using\nbioinformatics analysis. The new medication, called ChondroT, comprised water extracts of Osterici Radix, Lonicerae\nFolium, Angelicae Gigantis Radix, Clematidis Radix, and Phellodendri Cortex. This study was designed to investigate\nits chondroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects to develop an anti-arthritic herb medicine.\nMethods: ChondroT was validated using a convenient and accurate high-performance liquid chromatographyââ?¬â??\nphotodiode array (HPLCââ?¬â??PDA) detection method for simultaneous determination of its seven reference\ncomponents. The concentrations of the seven marker constituents were in the range of 0.81ââ?¬â??5.46 mg/g. The\nchondroprotective effects were evaluated based on SW1353 chondrocytes and matrix metalloproteinase 1\n(MMP1) expression. In addition, the anti-inflammatory effects of ChondroT were studied by Western blotting of\npro-inflammatory enzymes and by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) of inflammatory mediators in\nlipopolysaccharides (LPS)-induced RAW264.7 cells.\nResults: ChondroT enhanced the growth of SW1353 chondrocytes and also significantly inhibited IL-1Ã?²-induced\nMMP-1 expression. However, ChondroT did not show any effects on the growth of HeLa and RAW264.7 cells. The\nexpression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) was induced by LPS in\nRAW264.7 cells, which was significantly decreased by pre-treatment with ChondroT. In addition, ChondroT\nreduced the activation of NF-kB and production of inflammatory mediators, such as IL-1Ã?², IL-6, PGE2, and nitric\noxide (NO) in LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells.\nConclusions: These results show that ChondroT exerted a chondroprotective effect and demonstrated multi-target\nmechanisms related to inflammation and arthritis. In addition, the suppressive effect was greater than that exhibited by\nGHJTY, suggesting that ChondroT, a new complex herbal medication, has therapeutic potential for the treatment of\narthritis.
Loading....