本研究利用卵白蛋白 (ovalbumin, OVA) 處理小鼠巨噬細胞 (RAW 264.7) 以誘發發炎反應，並探討紅麴二次代謝物改善發炎之機制。紅麴黃色素 (monascin) 及OVA共同誘導24小時後，測定細胞激素 (cytokines) 表現量，證實tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) 及interleukin 6 (IL-6) 皆顯著降低；進一步觀察發炎反應下游產物之生成量，發現monascin可抑制nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) 及cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) 蛋白質表現因而減少nitricoxide (NO) 及prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) 之生成，並能抑制c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) 之磷酸化程度。綜合試驗結果得知，monascin有良好之抗發炎能力，具進一步開發為抗發炎藥物之潛力。

The present study investigated the effect of the Monascus-fermented product, monascin, on inflammation caused by ovalbumin (OVA). Our purpose was to understand the anti-inflammatory mechanism of the monascin. In this study, the murine macrophage RAW 264.7 cells were co-treated with monascin and OVA for 24 hours. The results showed that cytokine expression, including tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin 6 (IL-6), was obviously decreased. We further examined the expression of the downstream products of the inflammation pathway. Monascin had effectively inhibited the expression of nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), thus decreasing the production of nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). It also down-regulated the phosphorylation of the c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK). These data
uggested that monascin may have the potential to be developed as an anti-inflammation drug.