Fig. 5

Opuntia extract attenuates DCA-induced proinflammatory gene induction, cytotoxicity and IL-6 protein production. Pretreatment of COLO-680 N with Opuntia extract prior to a 30 min challenge with DCA attenuated the DCA-induced increase in IL-6 mRNA (A) and IL-8 mRNA (B) (mRNA isolated at 4 h after wash-out). At 24 h, Opuntia extract attenuated DCA-mediated cytotoxicity (C) and reduced release of IL-6 protein in supernatant (D). Means ± SEM of mean values of 3–5 independently conducted studies. **p < 0.01, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, ****p < 0.0001 assessed by two-way ANOVA, followed by Dunnett´s test vs. DCA.