The leaves ofArtemisia argyiLev. et Vant. andA. princepsPamp. are well known medicinal herbs used to treat patients in China, Japan, and Korea with skin problems such as eczema and itching, as well as abdominal pain and dysmenorrhoea. We investigated the anti-inflammatory effects ofArtemisialeaf extract (ALE) using CD mice and Raw 264.7 cells. The effects of ALE on histopathological changes and cytokine production in ear tissues were assessed in mice with CD induced by 1-fluoro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (DNFB). Moreover, the anti-inflammatory effects on production levels of prostaglandin E₂(PGE₂) and nitric oxide (NO) and expression levels of cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) were investigated in Raw 264.7 cells. Topical application of ALE effectively prevented ear swelling induced by repeated DNFB application. ALE prevented epidermal hyperplasia and infiltration of immune cells and lowered the production of interferon- (IFN-) gamma (γ), tumour necrosis factor- (TNF-) alpha (α), and interleukin- (IL-) 6 in inflamed tissues. In addition, ALE inhibited expression of COX-2 and iNOS and production of NO and PGE₂in Raw 264.7 cells. These results indicate thatArtemisialeaf can be used as a therapeutic agent for inflammatory skin diseases and that its anti-inflammatory effects are closely related to the inhibition of inflammatory mediator release from macrophages and inflammatory cytokine production in inflamed tissues.

Astaxanthin (AST) is related to apoptosis but the details of the mechanism of how AST makes apoptosis is not clear. The present study investigated apoptotic effects of AST to SKBR3, a breast cancer cell line in detail. Cell viability assay showed cellular proliferation and morphological changes of the cells were observed under AST treatment. FACS analysis indicated that AST blocked cell cycle progression at G0/G1, suppressed proliferation dose-dependently, and induced apoptosis of the cells. The apoptosis of the cells by AST was further demonstrated through the decreased expression level of mutp53 and cleaved a PARP-1 fragment, respectively. In addition, AST induced the intrinsic apoptosis of the cells by activation of Bax/Bcl2, cleaved caspase-3, and cleaved caspase-9 as well as the phosphorylation of ERK1/2, JNK, and p38. Furthermore, AST decreased production of intracellular reactive oxygen species as well as modulated expressions of superoxide dismutases and Pontin, an anti-apoptotic factor. Co-immunoprecipitation assay revealed AST reduced interaction between Pontin and mutant p53. Taken together, these studies proved that AST regulates the expression of apoptotic molecules to induce intrinsic apoptosis of the cells, suggesting AST therapy might provide an alternative for improving the efficacies of other anti-cancer therapies for breast cancer.

Schisandra chinensis Turcz. fruit is widely used to treat skin diseases. The aim of this study was to determine the anti-inflammatory effects of the methanol extract of S. chinensis (MESC) on 1-fluoro-2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene (DNFB)-induced contact dermatitis (CD) in mice. The effects of MESC on ear thickness and weight, histopathological changes, immune cell filtration and cytokine production were investigated in DNFB-induced CD mice. Topical application of MESC effectively inhibited ear swelling (30 or 300 μg on the left ear, P<0.001; 30 μg on the right ear, P<0.001). MESC also inhibited hyperplasia, spongiosis (100 μg/ear, P<0.05 and 300 μg/ear, P<0.001, respectively) and immune cell infiltration (100 μg/ear, P<0.05; 300 μg/ear, P<0.001) induced by DNFB. In addition, MESC suppressed increases in tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α levels (100 or 300 μg/ear, P<0.05), interferon (INF)-γ (30 μg/ear, P<0.05; 100 μg/ear, P<0.01; 300 μg/ear, P<0.001), interleukin (IL)-6 (300 μg/ear, P<0.05) and monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1 (30 μg/ear, P<0.05; 100 μg/ear, P<0.01; 300 μg/ear, P<0.001). These results suggest that the anti-inflammatory effects of MESC are mediated by the reduced production of TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-6 and MCP-1, and that MESC has potential use for the treatment of inflammatory skin diseases.