Alleviation of atopic dermatitis-related indications of the Lonicera japonica aqueous fraction produced by solid-state fermentation

In the process of screening the extracts of various medicinal herbs exhibiting with potent anti-atopic activity, we first confirmed the effect of the anti-atopic activity of the aqueous fraction of Lonicera japonica stem extract (afLj) ontained by the solid fermentation process by Phellinus baumii was identified to show anti-atopic activity for the first time. Further animal experiments revealed that the antioxidative activity of afLj had decreased, while the anti-atopic activity was increased compared to control. Moreover, treatment with afLj significantly decreased the infiltration of immune cells into inflammatory sites to 32% level observed with the control treatment in a DNFB-induced mouse model (NT). In particular, afLj dramatically decreased the number of eosinophils by afLj than those compared to Lj. The overall decrease in antioxidant activity and lack of significant differences in the β-hexosaminidase activity of afLj imply that the activity possessed by Lj itself was converted into an anti-atopic active substance through biotransformation during solid fermentation. Overall, these results suggest that the potential of afLj will be possible to use as a new functional biomaterial or functional food ingredient related with anti-atopic benefits.