Taraxaci Herba has long been used in herbal medicine for their choleretic, anti-heumatic and diuretic properties. In the present study, we investigated the effects of origin plants of Taraxaci Herba, Taraxacum coreanum Nakai, as an anti-inflammatory agent in lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-induced microglial activation in BV2 cells. NNMBS273, the EtOH extracts of roots T. coreanum was examined for anti-neuronal inflammatory activity as new drug development. The roots of T. coreanum, showed the potent anti-neuroinflammatory effects on LPS-induced inflammation in microglial BV2 cells. The anti-inflammatory effects of NNMBS273, the EtOH extracts of roots T. coreanum was demonstrated by the suppression of pro-inflammatory mediators, including pro-inflammatory enzymes (inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2) and cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1β). These results suggest that the roots T. coreanum may be a promising candidate for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases related to neuroinflammation.

Glutamate-induced oxidative injury contributes to neuronal degeneration in many central nervous system (CNS) diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy and ischemia. Inducible heme oxygenase (HO)-1 acts against oxidants that are thought to play a role in the pathogenesis of these diseases. The EtOH extracts of Viola mandshurica (NNMBS274), Viola patrinii (NNMBS275) and Viola papilionacea Pursh (NNMBS276), origin plants of Violae Herba, showed the potent neuroprotective effects on glutamate-induced neurotoxicity. Among them, NNMBS275, the extract of V. patrinii possessed the protective effects against glutamate toxicity by inducing the expression of heme oxygenase (HO)-1 in the mouse hippocampal HT22 cells. These results suggest that extracts of V. patrinii could be the effective candidates for the treatment of ROS-related neurological diseases. Furthermore, it is suggested that the protective effects of V. patrinii extract due to inducing the expression of HO-1 as an antioxidant/cytoprotective target