Pharmacological Activities and Phytochemicals of <em>Etlingera pavieana</em> (Pierre ex Gagnep) R.M.Sm

Etlingera pavieana (Pierre ex Gagnep) R.M.Sm. (Zingiberaceae family) is commonly found in Southeast Asia. The rhizome of the plant is used as a spice and folk medicine in southeastern Thailand and Cambodia. The extracts, essential oil, and compounds from E. pavieana were found to possess a variety of pharmacological activities like anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiatherogenic, and antimicrobial effects. Furthermore, phytochemical studies have reported the presence of various chemical constituents, the main being phenylpropanoids such as trans-4-methoxycinnamaldehyde (MCD) and 4-methoxycinnamyl p-coumarate (MCC). Therefore, E. pavieana seems to be a potential source of natural products for treatment of various diseases and promotion of good health

Heme oxygenase-1-mediated partial cytoprotective effect by NO on cadmium-induced cytotoxicity in C6 rat glioma cells

Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is a 32-kDa stress induced enzyme that degrades heme to carbon monoxide (CO) and biliverdin. By employing RT-PCR and Western blotting techniques, we have examined the HO-1 induction in C6 glioma cells that were treated with cadmium chloride (CdCl(2)) or spermine NONOate (SPER/NO). By employing a cell viability assay, we have also examined the cytoprotective effect of HO-1 induction against the cytotoxicity caused by toxic dose of CdCl(2). In C6 glioma cells exposed to CdCl(2), expression of HO-1 (mRNA and protein) was increased in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Nitric oxide (NO) generated from SPER/NO very rapidly increased HO-1 mRNA expression in the C6 glioma cells. The induction of HO-1 by SPER/NO protected the cells from toxic dose of CdCl(2). The up-regulation of HO-1 mRNA expression by CdCl(2) was inhibited by a pre-incubation of the cells with actinomycin D, a potent inhibitor of mRNA transcription. Upon the inhibition of elevated HO-1 mRNA expression by the use of zinc protoporphyrin IX (ZnPP), an inhibitor of HO activity, the change of HO-1 mRNA expression by ZnPP was not observed. Thus, the glial cell may respond to CdCl(2) toxicity by enhancing the HO-1 expression in its effort to minimize the CdCl(2)-derived oxidative damage, and to survive. In the glioma cells, when the HO-1 expression was elevated by a prior incubation with SPER/NO, the cell viability against the cytotoxicity of CdCl(2) was significantly increased. When the results of our experiment are taken together, we discovered that NO provided a rapid enhancement of HO-1 expression, and it provided a protective effect against CdCl(2)-derived oxidative injury in the C6 rat glioma cells