gardenia jasminoides extracts and gallic acid inhibit lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation by suppression of jnk2/1 signaling pathways in bv-2 cells

objective(s): gardenia jasminoides ellis (gj, cape jasmine fruit, zhi zi) has been traditionally used for the treatment of infectious hepatitis, aphthous ulcer, and trauma; however, the direct evidence is lacking. materials and methods:we investigated the effect of the gj extract(gj) and gallic acid (ga) on lipopolysaccharide (lps) induced inflammation of bv-2 microglial cells and acute liver injury in sprague-dawley (sd) rats. results:our results showed that the gj extract and ga reduced lps-induced nitric oxide (no), interleukin (il)-1, il-6, reactive oxygen species (ros), and prostaglandin (pge2) production in bv-2 cells. the gj extract and ga significantly decreased serum aspartate aminotransferase (ast) and alanine aminotransferase (alt) levels in lps-treated rats. furthermore, the water extract, but not the ethanol extract, of the gj dose-dependently inhibited lps-induced jnk2/1 and slightly p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases (mapk), and cyclooxygenase-2 (cox-2) expression in bv-2 cells. conclusion:taken together, these results indicate that the protective mechanism of the gj extract involves an antioxidant effect and inhibition of jnk2/1 map kinase and cox-2 expressions in lps-induced inflammation of bv-2 cells.