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Oxomollugin, a potential inhibitor of lipopolysaccharide-induced nitric oxide production including nuclear factor kappa B signals

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Abstract

Mollugin, a naphthoquinone derivative, was reported to possess various biological activities such as anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor activity. Mollugin isolated from Rubia tinctorum roots inhibited lipopolysaccharide-induced nitric oxide (NO) production in RAW264.7 macrophages. However, mollugin synthesized for further investigation of its anti-inflammatory mechanism showed weak activity in addition to unstable assay results. From the result of analysis on a degradation product of mollugin, oxomollugin was found to be the main active substance of mollugin degradation, showing a potent inhibitory activity on NO-production including nuclear factor kappa B signals.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported in part by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research from Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hoshi University, Ebara 2-4-41 Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, 142-8501, Japan

    Hiroshi Morita, Hitomi Nishino, Yuki Nakajima, Yoshiaki Kakubari, Asami Nakata, Jun Deguchi, Alfarius Eko Nugroho, Yusuke Hirasawa & Toshio Kaneda

  2. National Institute of Health Sciences, 1-18-1 Kamiyoga, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, 158-8501, Japan

    Yoko Kawasaki & Yukihiro Goda

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  1. Hiroshi Morita
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  2. Hitomi Nishino
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Correspondence to Hiroshi Morita.

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Morita, H., Nishino, H., Nakajima, Y. et al. Oxomollugin, a potential inhibitor of lipopolysaccharide-induced nitric oxide production including nuclear factor kappa B signals. J Nat Med 69, 608–611 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11418-015-0927-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11418-015-0927-3

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