Extract of Brassica rapaBrassica rapa Brassica rapa suppresses suppresses suppresses ovalbumin ovalbumin ovalbumin---induced asthma by induced asthma by induced asthma by down down down---regulating NF regulating NF regulating NF---κ κ κB and p38 B and p38 B and p38 MAPK activity MAPK activity MAPK activity BJP IntroductionAsthma is one of the most common chronic inflammatory diseases, characterized by lung eosinophilia, mucus hypersecretion, and airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) (Elias et al., 2003;Janson, 2010). The incidence of asthma is increasing at an alarming rate. It is estimated that about 300 million people suffer from asthma, and 250,000 asthma-related deaths occur each year.Asthma progression is associated with the expression of a broad array of inflammatory proteins. Studies have demonstrated that many of these responses are contributed by T-helper2 (Th2) cells (Busse and Lemanske, 2001;Herrick and Bottomly, 2003). IL-4, IL-5 and IL-13 cytokines secreted from Th2 cells are crucial in allergic airway inflammation (Leigh et al., 2004). NF-κB is also involved in the production of Th2 cytokines and in the recruitment of inflammatory cells (Choi et al., 2004;Kang et al., 2009). Mitogen-activated protein (MAP) p38 kinase has been reported in the activation of various immune cells (Griswold and Young, 1996;Chang et al., 2001). Thus, inhibitors of these inflammatory mediators could be considered as anti-inflammatory drug candidates in asthma (Chio and Park, 2012).Currently, corticosteroids are considered to be most effective for reducing the symptoms of asthma; however, they do not cure or alter the progression of the disease and also have been reported of systemic and local adverse effects (Walsh, 2005;Shahzad et al., 2009; Hocaoglu et al., 2011). The chronic nature of asthma and inefficacy of the currently used drugs has caused to explore for new therapies (Li, 2009). Complementary or alternative medicine (CAM) approaches are being increasingly used (Li and Brown, 2009). Brassicaceae vegetables consumed widely have beneficial effects due to their bioactive compounds with antioxidant capacity, as vitamins (Wu et al., 2004), phenolics and flavonoids (Powers et al., 2004;Podsedek, 2007). In the present study, the efficacy of Brassica vegetable, Brassica rapa AbstractAsthma is one of the most common chronic inflammatory diseases characterized by airway infiltration of inflammatory cells inducing hyperresponsiveness. Due to the inefficacy of currently used drugs to definitely cure asthma, there is an insistent need for identification of novel therapies. In the present research, efficiency of Brassica rapa extract in asthma induced mouse model was investigated. Asthma was induced in mice by ovalbumin induction. The extract (125-500 mg/kg) effectively reduced ovalbumin-specific IgE in serum and levels of interleukins (IL): IL-4, IL-5 and IL-13 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). B. rapa extract inhibited inflammatory cell infiltration in BALF and also improved lung compliance and airway resistance. The extr...