Inhibitory Effects of the Ethanol Extract of Ulmus davidiana on Apoptosis Induced by Glucose-glucose Oxidase and Cytokine Production in Cultured Mouse Primary Immune Cells

The bark of Ulmus darvidiana var. japonica Nakai (UDN) has been used for a long time to cure inflammation in oriental medicine. In the present study, two types of extracts, Ulmus water-eluted fraction (UWF) and Ulmus ethanol-eluted fraction (UEF), were prepared from the UDN stem bark, and employed to test the extracts to see if they had anti-oxidative properties against hydroxyl radicals that could alter immune reactivity in mouse immune cells. Deoxyribose assay, DNA nicking assay, and glucose/glucose oxidase assay showed that both fractions had scavenging activity against oxygen free radicals at 50 mg/ml. In addition, hydroxyl radical-mediated apoptosis in mouse thymocytes was not protected by UEF treatment, but the apoptosis was protected by UWF at the same concentration. DNA synthesis and cytokine production that were induced in splenocytes by mitogens (Concanavalin A and lipopolysaccharide) were reduced by the addition of both fractions. These results indicate that both extracts that were prepared from the UDN stem bark have anti-oxidative activities, anti-apoptotic effects, and inhibitory effects on DNA synthesis and cytokine production in mouse immune cell cultures.