Coompo Research Chemicals

Ligustilide was tested for its anti-inflammatory activities in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages. We found that ligustilide strongly inhibitis the induction of LPS-induced inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) at both the mRNA and protein levels in a dose-dependent manner. The transcriptional activity of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-B) was also down-regulated in a concentration-dependent manner. Further study revealed that ligustilide inhibited the phosphorylation and subsequent degradation of IBα, an inhibitor protein of NF-B. In addition, ligustilide inhibited the phosphorylation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK), extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) in a dose-dependent manner. Taken together, these data suggest that ligustilide can exert its antiinflammatory effects by regulating the NF-B and MAPK signal pathways.

Ligustilide could significantly protect the brain from damage induced by transient forebrain cerebral ischemia. The antioxidant and anti-apoptotic properties of Ligustilide may contribute to the neuroprotective potential of Ligustilide in cerebral ischemic damage.

Ligustilide not only has an active dilatory effect on myometrium but also an effective role in reducing the neurogenic and inflammatory pain, thus having the potential to be developed into an effective drug for the treatment of various pain syndromes including primary dysmenorrhoea.