SESQUITERPENE LACTONE CONTAINING MEXICAN INDIAN MEDICINAL-PLANTS AND PURE SESQUITERPENE LACTONES AS POTENT INHIBITORS OF TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR NF-KAPPA-B

The potential inhibitory effect of 54 Mexican Indian medicinal plants on the activation of transcription factor NF-kappa B was studied, Band -shift experiments identified the ethanolic leaf extracts of Artemisia ludoviciana ssp. mexicana, Calea zacatechichi, and Polymnia maculata (all rich in sesquiterpene lactones) as inhibitors of NF-kappa B down to a concentration of 25 mu g/ml. The sesquiterpene lactones isoheleni n and parthenolide prevented NF-kappa B activation completely as low a s 5 mu M. Treatment of HeLa cells with leaf extract of A. ludoviciana ssp. mexicana, isohelenin and parthenolide prevented the induction of transcription on the IL-6 promoter, These experiments identify the eud esmanolide and germacranolide type of sesquiterpene lactones as potent non-antioxidant inhibitors of NF-kappa B, All plants active in the NF -kappa B assay also showed a delay in the onset of capillary reactions of the allantois membrane in a physiological model for anti-inflammat ory activity - the HET-CAM assay.