Comparison of Anti-inflammatory Activities of Six Curcuma Rhizomes: A Possible Curcuminoid-independent Pathway Mediated by Curcuma phaeocaulis Extract

We aimed to compare the anti-inflammatory activities of six species of Curcuma drugs using adjuvant arthritis model mice. When orally administered 1 day before the injection of adjuvant, the methanol extract of Curcuma phaeocaulis significantly inhibited paw swelling and the serum haptoglobin concentration in adjuvant arthritis mice. Also when orally administered 1 day after the injection of adjuvant, the methanol extract of Curcuma phaeocaulis significantly inhibited paw swelling. Other Curcuma species (Curcuma longa, Curcuma wenyujin, Curcuma kwangsiensis, Curcuma zedoaria and Curcuma aromatica) had no significant inhibitory effects on adjuvant-induced paw swelling. Cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 activity was significantly inhibited by the methanol extract of C. phaeocaulis. Curcuminoids' (curcumin, bis-demethoxycurcumin and demethoxycurcumin) were rich in C. longa, but less in C. phaeocaulis and C. aromatica, not in C. wenyujin, C. kwangsiensis and C. zedoaria, suggesting that curcuminoids' contents do not relate to inhibition of arthritis swelling. Therefore, C. phaeocaulis may be a useful drug among Curcuma species for acute inflammation, and the active constituents of C. phaeocaulis are not curcuminoids.