Anti-Inflammation activity ofActinidia polygama

The fruit of Actinidia polygama (AP) has long been used as a folk medicine in Korea for treating pain, rheumatic arthritis and inflammation. The present investigation was carried out to determine thein vivo andin vitro anti-inflammatory activity of AP using several animal models of inflammation. The 70% ethanol extract of the fruit of AP significantly inhibited acetic acidinduced, vascular permeability in a dose dependent manner (23%, 38%, and 41% inhibition at doses of 200 mg/kg, 500 mg/kg and 1000 mg/kg, respectively). This effect was maintained in AP water-soluble fraction (APW). The APW fraction also showed significant inhibitory activity against the rat paw edema induced by a single treatment of carrageenan.In vitro experiments were performed to demonstrate the inhibitory activities of APW (100 μg/ml) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂) production. The results showed that APW dose-dependently suppressed LPS-induced NO production in RAW 264.7 macrophages without a notable cytotoxic effect and also decreased inducible NO synthase (iNOS) protein expression. APW also showed a significant inhibitory effect in LPS-induced PGE₂ production and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression.