PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - TAKAO KATO
AU  - NORIO HORIE
AU  - KEN HASHIMOTO
AU  - KAZUE SATOH
AU  - TETSUO SHIMOYAMA
AU  - TADAYOSHI KANEKO
AU  - KAORU KUSAMA
AU  - HIROSHI SAKAGAMI
TI  - Bimodal Effect of Glycyrrhizin on Macrophage Nitric Oxide and Prostaglandin E<sub>2</sub> Production
DP  - 2008 Sep 01
TA  - In Vivo
PG  - 583--586
VI  - 22
IP  - 5
4099  - http://iv.iiarjournals.org/content/22/5/583.short
4100  - http://iv.iiarjournals.org/content/22/5/583.full
SO  - In Vivo2008 Sep 01; 22
AB  - Glycyrrhizin is a major constituent of Kanzo, a popular herbal medicine used in food and cosmetics. Glycyrrhizin alone did not stimulate nitric oxide (NO) or prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production by RAW 264.7 cells, but modified lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated NO and PGE2 production in a bimodal fashion: it was stimulatory at lower concentrations, whereas it was inhibitory at higher concentrations. Electron-spin resonance spectroscopy showed that glycyrrhizin slightly scavenged the superoxide anion generated by hypoxanthine-xanthine oxidase reaction, but did not scavenge the DPPH and NO radicals. The present study demonstrates the concentration-dependent action of glycyrrhizin on both PGE2 and NO production by activated macrophages.