Effects of Baicalin from Traditional Chinese Medicine against Lipopolysaccharide-induced Inflammation in BV2 Cells In Vitro

Baicalin is a traditional medicine derived from Scutellaria baicalensis in China. In this study, we investigated its anti-inflammatory effects and the corresponding mechanism by using BV2 cells treated with lipopolysaccharides (LPS) to induce an inflammatory response in vitro. MTT(3-(4,5)-dimethylthiahiazo(-z-yl)-3,5-di-phenytetrazoliumromide) assay was used to observe the cell viability. The total nitric oxide (nitrate/nitrite) content in the cell supernatant was measured using the Griess reagent. The levels of IL-1 beta, IL-6, and TNF-a production were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The levels of IL-1 beta, IL-6, and TNF-alpha production were significantly increased as induced by LPS in the supernatant of BV2 cells (P < 0.01). However, baicalin decreased the production of related inflammatory cytokines, including IL-1 beta (P < 0.01), IL-6 (P < 0.01), and TNF-alpha (P < 0.01). Furthermore, baicalin (100 ng/mL) significantly inhibited the expression of total nitric oxide (nitrate/nitrite) as induced by LPS in BV2 cells. Baicalin can alleviate the LPS-induced inflammatory responses in BV2 cells by downregulating the expression of inflammatory cytokines, suggesting its potential clinical use in neuroinflammation diseases.