Paeonol

Paeonol , the main active compound of the traditionally used Chinese herb Paeonia lactiflora Pallas, has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and cardiovascular protective activities;Paeonol inhibits U937 monocyte adhesion to HUVECs stimulated by TNF-α, the inhibitory effect of paeonol on ICAM-1 production may be mediated by inhibiting p38, ERK and NF-κB signaling pathways, which are involved in TNF-α-induced ICAM-1 production, thus, paeonol may be beneficial in the treatment of cardiovascular disorders such as atherosclerosis.^[1]

Paeonol exerts its anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects in a rat model of carrageenan-evoked thermal hyperalgesia, the mechanism may be associated with decreased production of proinflammatory cytokines, NO and PGE2 and increased production of IL-10, an anti-inflammatory cytokine in carrageenan-injected rat paws, and attenuation of the elevated iNOS and COX-2 protein expression as well as neutrophil infiltration in carrageenan-injected paws may also be involved in the beneficial effects of paeonol.^[2]

Paeonol reduces cerebral infarct and neuro-deficit in rat, suggests it might play a similar role in reducing cerebral infarction in humans, it suppresses and scavenges superoxide anion, and inhibits microglia activation and IL-1beta in ischemia-reperfusion injured rats.

Paeonol can attenuates neurotoxicity and ameliorates cognitive impairment induced by d -galactose in ICR mice, suggests that paeonol possesses anti-aging efficacy and may have potential in treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.^[3]

Paeonol has antiproliferation and apoptosis induction in HepG_2 cells, also has significantly growth-inhibitory and apoptosis-inducing effects in gastric cancer cells both in

vitro and in vivo.^[4,5]