Investigation of the effects of some coumarins on secretory phospholipase A2 (sPLA2) and cyclooxigenase-2 (COX-2) enzymes

Inflammation is a physiological process that may occur for various reasons. Generally, phospholipids are formed by phospholipases and arachidonic acid, and enzymatic metabolism of arachidonic acid with cyclooxygenase (COX) enzymes and pro-inflammatory mediators. Phospholipase A2 (PLA2) catalyzes the hydrolysis of the ester linkage at the sn-2 position of the glycerophospholipids. As a result of this reaction arachidonic acid occurs. The PLA2 family comprises two classes of enzymes. These are intracellular (cytosolic) PLA2s and secreted PLA2 (sPLA2)s. COX is a speed-limiting enzyme in the metabolic conversion of arachidonic acid to prostaglandins. It plays a key role in the biosynthetic pathway of prostaglandin synthesis. There are two types of COX-1 and COX-2. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the effects of some coumarin class compounds in the family Umbelliferae on sPLA2 and COX-2 enzymes because sPLA2 and COX-2 enzymes play a key role in the inflammation pathway. In this project, spectrophotometric analysis were performed using kits suitable for sPLA2 and COX-2 enzyme activity and inhibitor screening. In ELISA Reader, the activity of enzymes activated by various coumarin class compounds was evaluated by considering the changes in absorption as a result of reaction of substrate with enzyme. According to the results, it was observed that Ammi majus plant extract had statistically significant (p<0.05) inhibition effect (% 84.7717) on sPLA2 enzyme. The inhibition effect of other extracts could not be evaluated. Similarly, the inhibition effect of all plant extracts which used in the study on COX-2 enzyme could not be evaluated. The original side of the work is that in the literature, anti-inflammatory activity of coumarin class compounds as a whole has not been determined due to their effects on both sPLA2 and COX-2 enzymes. In addition, Ammi majus plant extract is generally observed observationally by claw edema method in rats, it has not been evaluated enzymatically. In this study, the inhibitory activity of Ammi majus on sPLA2 and COX-2 was investigated enzymatically.