COX-2 Inhibition and Anti-inflammatory Effects of Traditional Herbal Medicine

한약재의 COX-2 저해 효과와 항염증작용

  • 김윤경 (한국한의학연구원 한약제제연구부) ;
  • 하혜경 (한국한의학연구원 한약제제연구부) ;
  • 이제현 (경희대학교 약학대학 한약학과) ;
  • 김정숙 (한국한의학연구원 한약제제연구부)
  • Published : 2002.06.30

Abstract

Inflammation is a disease that continues to afflict large numbers of people and may cause other diseases, for example, rheumatoid arthritis, colon cancer, etc. prostaglandins(PGs), one of arachidonic acid metabolites, are major chemical mediators in the process of inflammation. In traditional herbal medicine, many kinds of herbal drugs have been widely used for the treatment of inflammation. So, we analyzed many publications until 2001 which worked on inhibition of $PGE_2$ synthesis by cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) with herbs and herb oriented single compounds. And then we tried to make interpretations of herbal traditional prescriptions for inflammation. There are significant correlations between herbal medicine prescribed and inhibitions of COX-2 activity. From our efforts and further researches, we expect to develop new-inflammatory herbal drugs which have more efficacy and fewer side effects.

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