In vitro study of the anti-inflammatory activity of some medicinal and edible plants growing in Russia

The effects of the ethanolic extracts of 105 plants used in Russian traditional medicine, 26 vegetables and fruits and 2 mushrooms on the release of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) and prostaglandin E-2 (PGE(2)) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated differentiated human acute monocytic leukemia THP-1 cells were studied using TNF-alpha and PGE(2) assays, respectively. We found that 16 plant extracts inhibited TNF-alpha production and 15 extracts decreased PGE(2) release in the cells in a concentration-dependent manner. Guilder rose, tansy, shrubby cinquefoil, wintergreen, and prince's pine, the last two of which belong to the Pyrolaceae family, notably inhibited the levels of both of the inflammatory mediators.