Scutellaria Baicalensis Downregulates IL-8 Expression in Human Gingival Epithelial Cells

Objectives: Scutellaria baicalensis(SB) has long been used in traditional Chinese medicine as an anti-inflammatory ingredient. This study investigated the potential anti-inflammatory effects of SB on human gingival epithelial cells. Methods: Human gingival epithelial cells (HGEPs) (Cellntec, Switzerland) were cultured to confluence in 12-well plates with Cnt-24 medium (Cellntec). Cells were pretreated with SB extract (SBE) at 50µg/mL and 100µg/mL for 1 hr, and subsequently treated with human IL-1β (Cellsignal, USA) at 1ng/mL with or without SBE (50/100µg/mL) for 6 hr. The levels of IL-6 and IL-8 in the culture media (pg) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and normalized to the total protein quantity (µg) of the corresponding cells (pg/µg). The difference of cytokine levels between the groups was determined by student’s t-test. Results: The levels of IL-6 and IL-8 expressed by HGEPs were upregulated by human IL-1β treatment. Compared with the control cells treated with human IL-1β alone, those treated with SBE (50µg/mL) expressed a significantly lower level of IL-8 (p<0.05). SBE also downregulated human IL-1β-induced IL-6 expression, but a statistical difference was not reached. Conclusion: Within the limits of the study, the current findings show that Scutellaria baicalensis exhibits anti-inflammatory effect through downregulating IL-8 expression in human gingival epithelial cells.