Background: Oxidative stress and inflammation are associated with various age-related chronic diseases. The fruits and roots of Rosa multiflora Thunb. have been used in medicine for the treatment of edema and inflammatory diseases in Eastern Asia. Dried Rosa multiflora Thunb. flowers (RMF) are consumed as a tea in Korea, but reports on the biological activity of RMF are lacking. We evaluated the in vitro antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of an ethanol extract from RMF as well as various solvent fractions from the extract.
Methods:The ethanol extract (Et) of RMP was fractionated sequentially by hexane (Hx), dichloromethane (DM), ethyl acetate (EA), n-Butanol (Bt), and water (DW). Total phenolic and flavonoid contents, scavenging activities of the 2,2-diphenyl-1 picrylhydrazyl radical, 2,2′-azinobis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid radical, and ferric-reducing antioxidant power were measured. Anti-inflammatory effects in terms of levels of nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin (PG) E2, and production of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated RAW 264.7 macrophages were measured. The expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 were measured by the Western blot analysis.Results: EA demonstrated the highest total phenolic and flavonoid contents and strongest antioxidant activity, followed by Bt and Et. Treatment with Et, Hx, DM, EA, Bt, and DW significantly suppressed (p<0.05) NO production in a dose-dependent manner in LPS-treated RAW 264.7 macrophages via reduction of expression of iNOS protein. Treatment with Et, DM, and EA significantly suppressed (p<0.05) PGE2 production induced by LPS treatment; however, only Bt treatment significantly reduced (p<0.05) the expression of COX-2 protein. Treatment with EA and Bt suppressed IL-6 production significantly (p<0.05) in LPS-treated RAW 264.7