Inhibition of inducible isoforms of cyclooxygenase and nitric oxide synthase by flavonoid hesperidin in mouse macrophage cell line.

Previous data have shown that a citrus flavanone, hesperidin possesses chemopreventive efficacies. We designed to investigate the inhibitory effect of hesperidin on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced over-expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) proteins, over-production of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and nitric oxide (NO) using mouse macrophage cells. Treatment with hesperidin suppressed production of PGE2, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and expression of iNOS protein. In the case of COX-2, hesperidin did not affect the protein level. Our data indicate hesperidin as a COX-2 and iNOS inhibitor, which might be related to the anti-inflammatory and anti-tumorigenic efficacies.