Anti-inflammatory activities of cardamonin from Alpinia katsumadai through heme oxygenase-1 induction and inhibition of NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathway in the carrageenan-induced paw edema

• In vivo test, cardamonin decreased the paw edema after carrageenan administration.
• Cardamonin might be related to the decrease in the level of MDA, iNOS and COX-2 in the edema paw.
• Cardamonin inhibited the degradation of NF-κB and IκBα, and the phosphorylation of MAPKs.
• Cardamonin increased heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) expressions in the paw edema.

Cardamonin is a chalcone isolated from Alpinia katsumadai. This study is aimed to evaluate treatment of cardamonin decreased the paw edema at the 5th hour after λ-carrageenan (Carr) administration and increased the activities of catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the anti-inflammatory test. We also demonstrated that cardamonin significantly attenuated the malondialdehyde (MDA) level in the edema paw at the 5th hour after Carr injection. Cardamonin decreased the nitric oxide (NO), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and IL-6 levels on the serum level at the 5th hour after Carr injection. Western blotting revealed that cardamonin decreased Carr-induced inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cycloxyclase (COX-2), nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and MAPK [extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK), c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase (JNK), p38] expressions and increased heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) expressions at the 5th hour in the edema paw. The anti-inflammatory mechanisms of cardamonin might be related to the decrease in the level of MDA, iNOS, COX-2, NF-κB, and MAPK and induction of the HO-1 expression in the edema paw via increasing the activities of CAT and SOD in the edema paw through the suppression of NO, TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6.

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