Effect of poly-herbal formula on NO production by LPS-stimulated mouse macrophage-like cells.

Pretreatment of mice with lyophilized hot water extracts of five poly-herbal formula protected them from lethal infection by E. coli. ESR spectroscopy shows that these extracts produced radicals under alkaline condition, and scavenged radicals such as superoxide anion, hydroxyl radical and nitric oxide (NO) radical. There was a positive relationship between their radical intensity and radical scavenging activity. Among the extracts, HD-02 efficiently inhibited the production of NO and citrulline, and the expression of inducible NO synthase (iNOS) mRNA by LPS-stimulated mouse macrophage-like cells Raw 264.7. DLH-3073 not only inhibited the LPS-stimulated NO production at lower concentration, but also induced NO production at higher concentrations, suggesting the presence of two different antagonizing components in the DLH-3073 extract. These data suggest that poly-herbal extracts may alleviate radical-mediated diseases.