{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,27]],"date-time":"2026-09-27T17:20:54Z","timestamp":1790529654518,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,29]],"date-time":"2021-12-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1640736000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Samcheok city","award":["2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2020"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Molecules"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Prasiola japonica possesses several biological activities. However, reports on the anti-inflammatory activities and molecular mechanisms of its different solvent fractions remain limited. In this study, we investigated the potential anti-inflammatory activities of P. japonica ethanol extract (Pj-EE) and four solvent fractions of Pj-EE made with hexane (Pj-EE-HF), chloroform (Pj-EE-CF), butanol (Pj-EE-BF), or water (Pj-EE-WF) in both in vitro (LPS-induced macrophage-like RAW264.7 cells) and in vivo (carrageenan-induced acute paw edema mouse models) experiments. The most active solvent fraction was selected for further analysis. Various in vitro and in vivo assessments, including nitric oxide (NO), cytokines, luciferase assays, real-time polymerase chain reactions, and immunoblotting analyses were performed to evaluate the underlying mechanisms. In addition, the phytochemical constituents were characterized by Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. In in vitro studies, the highest inhibition of NO production was observed in Pj-EE-CF. Further examination revealed that Pj-EE-CF decreased the expression of inflammation-related cytokines in LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells and suppressed subsequent AP-1-luciferase activity by inhibition of phosphorylation events in the AP-1 signaling pathway. Pj-EE-CF treatment also demonstrated the strongest reduction in thickness and volume of carrageenan-induced paw edema, while Pj-EE-BF showed the lowest activity. Furthermore, Pj-EE-CF also reduced gene expression and cytokines production in tissue lysates of carrageenan-induced paw edema. These findings support and validate the evidence that Pj-EE, and especially Pj-EE-CF, could be a good natural source for an anti-inflammatory agent that targets the AP1 pathway.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules27010194","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,29]],"date-time":"2021-12-29T08:12:15Z","timestamp":1640765535000},"page":"194","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":24,"title":["Anti-Inflammatory Activities of the Ethanol Extract of Prasiola japonica, an Edible Freshwater Green Algae, and Its Various Solvent Fractions in LPS-Induced Macrophages and Carrageenan-Induced Paw Edema via the AP-1 Pathway"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"27","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7977-1814","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Laily","family":"Rahmawati","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Integrative Biotechnology, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1175-4222","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sang Hee","family":"Park","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biocosmetics, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dong Seon","family":"Kim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Integrative Biotechnology, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hwa Pyoung","family":"Lee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Integrative Biotechnology, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7696-1025","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nur","family":"Aziz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Integrative Biotechnology, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0857-5944","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Chae Young","family":"Lee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Integrative Biotechnology, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Seung A","family":"Kim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Integrative Biotechnology, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Seok Gu","family":"Jang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research and Business Foundation, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dong Sam","family":"Kim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research and Business Foundation, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8141-9927","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jae Youl","family":"Cho","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Integrative Biotechnology, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"16","DOI":"10.3109\/08830185.2010.529976","article-title":"Pathogen recognition by the innate immune system","volume":"30","author":"Kumar","year":"2011","journal-title":"Int. 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