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Background:While curcuminoids have been reported to possess diverse biological activities, the anti-inflammatory activity of polar extracts (devoid of curcuminoids) of Curcuma longa (C. longa) has seldom been studied. In this study, we have investigated immune-stimulatory and anti-inflammatory activities of an aqueous based extract of C. longa (NR-INF-02) and its fractions in presence and absence of mitogens.Materials and Methods:Effects of NR-INF-02 (Turmacin™, Natural Remedies Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore, India) on proliferation, nitric oxide (NO), monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), interleukins (ILs) and prostaglandin (PGE2) levels of mouse splenocytes and mouse macrophage (RAW264.7) cells were determined.Results:NR-INF-02 increased splenocytes number in presence and absence of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or concanavalin A. Treatment of NR-INF-02 showed a significant increase of NO, IL-2, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, interferon (IFN) gamma, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha and MCP-1 production in unstimulated mouse splenocytes and mouse macrophages. Interestingly, NR-INF-02 showed potent inhibitory effect towards release of PGE2 and IL-12 levels in LPS stimulated mouse splenocytes. Further, NR-INF-02 was fractionated into polysaccharide fraction (F1) and mother liquor (F2) to study their immune-modulatory effects. F1 was found to be more potent than F2 toward inhibiting PGE2 and IL-12 in LPS stimulated splenocytes.Conclusion:Present findings revealed the novel anti-inflammatory property of NR-INF-02 and its polysaccharide fraction by inhibiting the secretion of IL-12 and PGE2 in vitro.

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Quality evaluation of botanical preparations is still evolving globally due to the complex, variable, and unknown phytochemical compositions of herbs. Accordingly, the quality of commercially available products needs to be better defined and controlled to ensure consistent health benefits and safety for consumers. This study aims to develop a comprehensive analytical methodology involving both phytochemical and biological evaluations towards achieving a meaningful quality control of commercial batches of a flavonoid-rich extract (GutGard®) derived from Glycyrrhiza glabra. Nine different commercial batches of the extract were analyzed to establish the chromatographic fingerprint of flavonoids as well as biological consistency using in-vitro assays for evaluating antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. A total of 53 peaks were assigned using MS/MS as the “common peaks” and nine peaks as “characteristic peaks” in the fingerprint of all the nine batch samples. Quantitative determination of the latter was achieved with a validated HPLC method. The finding revealed that all the examined samples were enriched with flavonoids, although with varied contents. The biological assays complemented the phytochemical analysis by way of providing a range of IC50 values that represent the overall chemistry of the extract including both the known and unknown constituents.