Figure 2

(A) Western Blotting Analysis showing the effect of the 1% plant extract of Centaurea ainetensis on COX-2 protein expression in Mode-K cells. Treatment with IL-1 for 6 h increased COX-2 protein levels (lane 2). This IL-1-induced increase was significantly inhibited by plant extract pretreatment for 2 and 12 h (lanes 5 & 6). No effect of the plant extract alone was observed (lanes 3 & 4). β-Actin was used to ensure equal protein loading. (B) Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay (EMSA) showing the effect of the 1% extract of Centaurea ainetensis on NF-κB activation in Mode-K cells in the presence and absence of IL-1 for 6 h. NF-κB was significantly activated by IL-1 treatment for 6 h (lane 2). This IL-1-induced activation was abrogated by plant extract pretreatment for 2 and 12 h (lanes 5 & 6). Centaurea ainetensis alone had no effect on NF-κB activation (lanes 3 & 4).