Quantitative screening of anti-inflammatory components from a traditional Chinese medicine from <i>Solanum lyratum</i> Thunb

A large number of traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) have been reported with a wide range of anti-inflammatory activities, comparison of the potency between different TCM has not been well explored. Here in this study, the anti-inflammatory potency of 42 TCM was firstly quantified by a pro-inflammatory factor ICAM-1 at cellular level. After several rounds of screening and toxicity tests, crude fraction E11 from <i>Solanum lyratum</i> Thunb revealed significant anti-inflammatory activity in in vivo and in vitro experiments at low concentrations. After further separation and purification, four compounds were isolated from <i>S. lyratum</i> by continuous anti-inflammatory screening. Among them, compound 4 (diosgenin3-<i>O</i>-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-D-glucopyranosiduronic acid) showed significant anti-inflammatory activity at a concentration of 16 µg/mL without toxicity to human microvascular endothelial cells. The quantitative anti-inflammatory screening platform shall be lent not only for selection of best candidate from a traditional medicine library, but also for tracing the mostly active compounds from different fractions in one herb.