Sarijang is a bamboo salt sauce containing extracts of Rhynchosia nulubilis, Ulmus davidiana roots, Allium sativum, and has been used as nonspecific immunostimulants for cancer patients. However, its immunomodulating effects are not fully understood. In this study, the signaling mechanism of sarijang was investigated in RAW264.7 macrophages to evaluate its immunostimulating properties. We found that sarijang was capable of up-regulation of nitric oxide (NO) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-Ձ production without affecting cell viability. Sarijang also increased the levels of mRNA and protein expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) suggesting that sarijang-induced expression of iNOS was liable for induction of NO production. In addition, our data indicated that sarijang-induced production of TNF-Ձ was associated with the induction of mRNA expression of TNF-Ձ. Moreover, sarijang exhibited immuno-stimulating properties by activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) such as extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), p38 MAPK, and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). Based on these data, we suggeste that sarijang may potentially regulate the immune response. (Cancer Prev Res 17, 0-330, 2012)

Keywords: Sarijang, Bamboo salt, Macrophages, NO, Cytokines, MAPKs