안토시아닌(Anthocyanin)은 플라보노이드계 화합물의 한 부류로 항산화, 항암 및 항궤양, 항당뇨, 중금속해독, 시력보호, 콜레스테를 저하 등의 다양한 생리활성을 가지는 것으로 보고되어 있다. 죽상경화과정은 염증성 사이토카인의 분비 또는 혈관손상으로 인한 백혈구의 부착과 이동을 통해 시작된다. 본 연구는 이러한 죽상경화의 초기과정에서 안토시아닌 혼합물 중 single compound인 delphinidin chloride (DC) 인간혈관 내피세포

Cynanchum wilfordii Radix (CWR), Arctium lappa L (ALL), and Dioscorea opposite (DO) have been known to improve blood lipid profile, blood pressure, and inflammation. To find the optimal combination ratio of CWR, ALL, and DO in terms of vascular health improvement, we compared the effects of various combinations on gene expression of Vascular cell adhesion protein 1 (VCAM-1) in human aortic smooth muscle cells (HASMC). VCAM-1 mediates endothelial leukocyte adhesion and is upregulated in atherosclerosis. Cells was stimulated by TNF-α (10 ng/㎖, 2h) and treated with various combinations for 24 h. A combination (CADM5, CWR:ALL:DO = 2:1:1) showed the strongest suppression of VCAM-1 so that CADM5 was chosen for further experiments. We performed cell viability test with CADM5 (0, 3.125, 12.5, 25, 50, and 100 ㎍/㎖) and no cytotoxicity was found. We also investigated the effect of CADM5 on protein expression of VCAM-1, ICAM-1, Nrf-2, and HO-1 using western blotting. We found that CADM5 diminished the expression of VCAM-1 and increased the expression of Nrf-2 and HO-1. Therefore, we concluded that CADM5 (CWR:ALL:DO = 2:1:1) effectively improves vascular health by regulating the expression of VCAM-1.