No abstract

γ-Aminobutyric acid-enriched sea tangle extract was obtained from the fermentation of Lactobacillus brevis BJ-20. The fermented sea tangle extract (FST) was separated into three fractions by molecular weight: FST I (greater than 10 kDa), FST II (1-10 kDa), and FST III (less than 1 kDa). The anti-inflammatory characteristics of the FST fractions were investigated by measuring the production of nitric oxide (NO) and the expression levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)induced mouse macrophage (RAW 264.7) cells. Both NO production and iNOS expression levels were significantly inhibited by FST treatments in a dose-dependent manner. FST III was the most effective inhibitor of processes. This demonstrates that the effect of FST on LPS-induced inflammation might be closely correlated with the inhibition of inflammatory cytokine expression.