Figure 5.

The effect of treatment with LPS in combination with saline (LC) or with two different concentrations of fermented Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae-1 (FRAM-1) and fermented Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae-2 (FRAM-2) formulations on the expression of the iNOS gene (a) and production of nitrite (b) in RAW264.7 cells. The cells were treated for 24 h with the indicated concentrations of FRAMs. The control cells (N) and the noncontrol cells that were assigned to treatment with LPS alone (LC) were treated with sterile saline instead of herbal extracts. After this treatment, the noncontrol and control cells were treated with LPS (10 μg/mL) and PBS, respectively, for 24 h, followed by the determination of iNOS gene expression and nitrite production. The detailed treatment regimen and experimental conditions are described in Section 2. The level of iNOS gene expression in control cells (N) was set to 100%. The data are expressed as the mean ± SD, n = 3. The data for both iNOS and nitrite production were log-transformed prior to analysis by ANOVA. ^aStatistically significant difference compared to control cells (P < 0.05); ^bstatistically significant difference compared to cells treated with LPS plus saline (P < 0.05). FHE: fermented herbal extract.