Figure 7.

BR extract and its active compounds C3G and P3G exhibited anti−inflammatory properties through the inhibition of NLRP3 inflammasome pathway in A549 lung cells and THP−1 macrophages. A549 cells (at 3 × 10⁵ cell/well) and PMA−treated THP−1 macrophage (6.5 × 10⁵ cell/well) were pre−treated with the BR extract at the concentration of 0−100 μg/mL or C3G and P3G at the concentration of 0−10 μg/mL for 4 h, and then challenged with 100 ng/mL of SP for 3 h (A), then the cell lysates were collected. Cells were kept and determined for the inhibition of inflammasome machinery proteins including NLRP3, caspase−1, and ASC using Western blot analysis. The inhibitory effects of BR extract and active anthocyanins on NF−kB transcriptional activity in nuclear extracts (B). The inhibitory effects of the BR extract in A549 cells (C) and in THP−1 cells (D), C3G (E), and P3G (F) on NLRP3, caspase−1, and ASC proteins displayed in western blots and band density measurements. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01 vs. SP−induced control group. ^† p < 0.05 vs. non−treated control group.