Butea monosperma herb

Palăśa (Butea monosperma) is considered sacred both by Hindus and Buddhists. It is known to the Hindus under the Sănskrt name Palăśa as it possesses valuable medicinal properties. This sacred tree is being called the treasurer of the gods and of sacrifice. It grows throughout India except in very arid parts and is a medium sized deciduous tree. Parts used are bark, leaf, flower, seed and gum. It is mainly useful as aphrodisiac, laxative etc.

Butrin, Isobutrin and Butein from Medicinal Plant Butea monosperma Selectively Inhibit NF-{kappa}B in Activated Human Mast Cells: Suppression of TNF-{alpha}, IL-6 and IL-8.
J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2010 Feb 17. Rasheed Z, Akhtar N, Khan A, Khan KA, Haqqi TM. University of South Carolina;
Activation of mast cells in rheumatoid synovial tissue has often been associated with tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8 production and disease pathogenesis by adjacent cell types. Butea monosperma (BM), is a well known medicinal plant in India and the tropics. The aim of this study was to examine whether a standardized extract of BM flower (BME) could inhibit inflammatory reactions in human mast cells using activated HMC-1 cells as a model. Four previously characterized polyphenols- butrin, isobutrin, isocoreopsin and butein- were isolated from BME by preparative TLC and their purity and molecular weights were determined by LC/MS analysis. Our results showed that butrin, isobutrin and butein significantly reduced the PMACI-induced inflammatory gene expression and production of TNF-alpha, IL-6 and IL-8 in HMC-1 cells by inhibiting the activation of NF-kappaB. In addition, isobutrin was most potent in suppressing the NF-kappaB p65 activation by inhibiting IkappaBalpha-degradation, whereas butrin and butein were relatively less effective. In-vitro kinase activity assay revealed that isobutrin was a potent inhibitor of IKK activity. Ours is the first report identifying the molecular basis of the reported anti-inflammatory effects of BME and its constituents butrin, isobutrin and butein. The novel pharmacological actions of these polyphenolic compounds indicate potential therapeutic value for the treatment of inflammatory and other diseases in which activated mast cells play a role.