Research Library
Methanol extract of Dioscoreae Rhizoma inhibits pro-inflammatory cytokines and mediators in the synoviocytes of rheumatoid arthritis.
Authors: Kim MJ, Kim HN, Kang KS, Baek NI, Kim DK, Kim YS, Kim SH, Jean BH.
Source: Int Immunopharmacol. 2004 Nov;4(12):1489-97.
Dioscoreae Rhizoma (MDR), the root of Dioscorea tokoro MAKINO, has been used for the treatment of arthritis, muscular pain and urinary diseases in oriental medicine. The present work evaluates a methanol extract of Dioscoreae Rhizoma (MDR). MDR did not show any cytotoxic effect on mouse lung fibroblast cells (mLFCs) or human fibroblast-like synovial cells (hFLSCs). However, it significantly reduced the proliferation of hFLSCs stimulated by interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha). MDR significantly inhibited the production of TNF-alpha and IL-1beta as well as down-regulating the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in IL-1beta- and TNF-alpha-stimulated hFLSCs. MDR also effectively reduced the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in these cells. Taken together, these findings provide evidence that MDR may be a candidate for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).