Inhibitory effect of an Indian medicinal plant on pro-inflammatory cytokines and NO production in cell lines

Phyllanthus amarus Schumach. & Thonn. (family Euphorbiaceae), is a small herb used in Indian traditional systems of medicine for painful disorders related to inflammatory diseases. Scientists have reported effective activity of Phyllanthus species in inhibiting both neurogenic and inflammatory components of pain response caused by formalin [1]. Inflammatory diseases represent a significant proportion of illnesses. The pro-inflammatory cytokines and the reactive free radical nitric oxide (NO) have been reported to be involved in the development of inflammatory diseases [2]. This led us to investigate the hexane, methanolic and aqueous various extracts of the whole plant extracts on the production (pg/ml) of interleukin 1β (IL- 1β), interleukin 2 (IL- 2), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF- α) and on the production (µM) of nitric oxide (NO). Extracts (100µg/ml) of Phyllanthus a. have shown significant (P<0.001) inhibitory effects on different pro-inflammatory cytokines, interleukin 1β (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and nitric oxide (NO) in mouse macrophage cells, RAW 264.7 stimulated by lipopolysaccharides (LPS). An inhibition (P<0.001) was also found in the production of interleukin 2 (IL- 2) in EL 4 lymphoma cells stimulated with 4µg/ml of Concavalin A (Con-A) with all the extracts. Our finding suggests that both aqueous and organic solvent extracts of the herb may have therapeutic potential in the control of inflammatory disorders.

References: [1] Filho, V. C. et al. (1996) J. Pharm. Pharmacol. 48: 1231–1236. [2] Freeman, B. D., Natanson, C. (2000) Expert. Opin. Investig. Drugs 9: 1651–1663.