The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of Sargassum hemiphyllum in LPS-stimulated macrophage cells

Abstract

Sargassum hemiphyllum (SH) has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Colorimetric experiments were used to measure the antioxidant capacity of SH ethanol extract (SHE) and the organic solvent fractions of SHE. In RAW 264.7 cell macrophages stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), treatment of SHE increased mRNA expression of antioxidant-related enzymes SOD1 and CAT, while expression of antioxidant-related regulator nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) was not increased. In LPS and (Interferon Gamma) IFN-γ-induced RAW 264.7 cell macrophages and bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs), the mRNA expression of CD86, the M1 polarization gene, and pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNFα, IL1β, iNOS, COX2) mRNA expression were increased. However, the hexane fraction (HEX) at concentrations of 25, 50, and 100 μg/mL suppressed the mRNA expression of CD86 and pro-inflammatory cytokines. LPS stimulation arrested macrophage cell cycling. LPS decreased the G0/G1 phase of the macrophage cell and increased the S phase. After that, the G0/G1 phase recovered and the S phase decreased by treatment with SHE and HEX at the concentrations of 25 and 50 μg/mL. By Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography (UPLC), the SHE, the HEX, and the chloroform fraction (CHCl3) were quantitated as 2.68 mg/g, 1.18 mg/g, and 0.60 mg/g of fucoxanthin, respectively which indicates that fucoxanthin, a major carotenoid, may in part contribute to the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of SH.