| Abstract
| - Feijoa sellowiana Berg. fruits and especially the acetonic extract have been shown to possessbiological activities, although the responsible compounds have never been identified. The presentstudy was designed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity of an acetonic extract from F. sellowianaBerg. fruits on the nitric oxide (NO) pathway, which plays an important role in inflammation. To thisaim the J774 cell line, which expresses inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) following stimulationwith lipopolysaccharide (LPS), has been utilized, and the effects of this extract and its fractions onNO production, iNOS protein expression, and signal pathways involved in its regulation have beenevaluated. This study demonstrates that at least some part of the anti-inflammatory activity of theacetonic extract is due to the suppression of NO production by flavone and stearic acid. Themechanism of this inhibition seems to be related to an action on the expression of the enzyme iNOSthrough the attenuation of nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) and/or mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)activation. Keywords: Feijoa sellowiana; feijoa; flavone; fatty acid; macrophages; iNOS; NF-κB; ERK-1/2
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