BACKGROUND: Hispidin, a polyphenol compound mainly derived from the valuable medicinal mushroom <i>Phellinus</i> species, has been found to possess distinct biological effects. However, the anti-inflammatory potential of hispidin still remains uncharacterized. RESULTS: In this study, the effects of hispidin on activation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappaB) and the subsequent production of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) were determined in the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced macrophage RAW 264.7 cells. Our data indicated that hispidin inhibits transcriptional activity of NF-kappaB in a dose-dependent manner. Hispidin also attenuated LPS-induced NF-kappaB nuclear translocation and associated inhibitor of kappa B (IkappaB-alpha) degradation. Furthermore, hispidin deceased iNOS protein expression and the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the LPS-induced cells, but did not affect phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that hispidin exhibits anti-inflammatory activity through suppressing ROS mediated NF-kappaB pathway in mouse macrophage cells.
Shao, H. J., et al. (2015). “Anti-inflammatory activity of mushroom-derived hispidin through blocking of NF-kappaB activation.” J Sci Food Agric 95(12): 2482-2486.