Aralia cordata (A. cordata), which belongs to Araliaceae, is a perennial herb widely distributed in East Asia. We evaluated the anti-inflammatory effect of stems (AC-S), roots (AC-R) and leaves (AC-L) extracted with 100% methanol of A. cordata and elucidated the potential signaling pathway in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. The AC-L showed a strong anti-inflammatory activity through inhibition of NO production. AC-L dose-dependently inhibited NO production by suppressing iNOS, COX-2 and IL-β expression in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. AC-L inhibited the degradation and phosphorylation of IκB-α, which donated to the inhibition of p65 nuclear accumulation and NF-κB activation. Furthermore, AC-L suppressed the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and p38. These results suggested that AC-L may utilize anti-inflammatory activity by blocking NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathway and indicated that the AC-L can be used as a natural anti-inflammatory drugs.

Abstract
  Introduction
  Materials and Methods
  Results and Discussion
  References

• Eo Hyun Ji(Forest Medicinal Resources Research Center, National Institute of Forest Science)
• Da Som Kim(Forest Medicinal Resources Research Center, National Institute of Forest Science)
• Su Jin Sim(Forest Medicinal Resources Research Center, National Institute of Forest Science)
• Gwang Hun Park(Forest Medicinal Resources Research Center, National Institute of Forest Science)
• Jeong Ho Song(Forest Medicinal Resources Research Center, National Institute of Forest Science)
• Jin Boo Jeong(Department of Medicinal Plant Resources, Andong National University)
• Nahyun Kim(Forest Medicinal Resources Research Center, National Institute of Forest Science) Corresponding author