Anti-inflammatory activity of 3β-hydroxycholest-5-en-7-one isolated from Hippocampus trimaculatus leach via inhibiting iNOS, TNF-α, and 1L-1β of LPS induced RAW 264.7 macrophage cells.

Hippocampus trimaculatus leach has been widely used in beverage and herbal medicine fabrication. However, the study of the molecular mechanism of its bioactivity especially the anti-inflammatory activity is still scanty. In the present study, the pure HEO isolated from the dried Hippocampus trimaculatus leach was firstly found to have anti-inflammatory activity in vitro. The molecular mechanism of the anti-inflammatory activity was detailed using the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophage cells, suggesting that the HEO can significantly suppress the inflammatory factors of nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin (1L)-1β (1L-1β). Cellular signaling analyses demonstrated that the HEO downregulated the NF-κB and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways. All the results suggested that the HEO is a potential natural anti-inflammatory agent.