Triterpenoids isolated from Euphorbia tirucalli Linn. inhibit lipopolysaccharide mediated inflammatory response in RAW264.7 murine macrophage cell line

The latex of Euphorbia tirucalli Linn. (Euphorbiaceae) is traditionally used for treating inflammatory disorders. However, studies of triterpenoids from E. tirucalli on inflammatory mediators have been few. The current study aims to investigate the anti-inflammatory effects of the triterpenoid fraction isolated from E. tirucalli (TET) in RAW 264.7 cell lines. The TET was prepared from the aerial parts of E. tirucalli. Different concentrations of TET (5-25?g/ml) were subjected to in vitro study. The inhibitory effect of TET on nitrate, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, total cycloxygenase (COX), 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) activity and COX-2, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-?), interleukin-6 (IL-6) gene expressions were studied in LPS stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. TET (25?g/ml) inhibited maximum total COX and 5-LOX activity by 60.32% and 76.46% respectively, besides significantly (p<0.05) diminished nitrate and ROS generation when compared with LPS treatment alone. Moreover TET down regulated the mRNA expression of TNF-?, IL-6, COX-2 and iNOS against LPS stimulation. Our results demonstrates that TET is able to attenuate inflammatory response possibly via ROS and NO suppression, inhibiting the production of arachidonic acid metabolites and modulation of proinflammatory mediators and cytokines release.