Anti-angiogenic, anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive activity of 4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol.

4-Hydroxybenzyl alcohol (HBA), one of the well-known phenolic compounds in diverse plants, displayed a significant inhibition in the chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) angiogenesis assay. HBA was shown to contain an anti-inflammatory activity in carrageenan-induced air pouch model in rats and acetic acid-induced permeability model in mice. Anti-nociceptive activity of HBA was also assessed using the acetic acid-induced writhing test in mice. HBA was able to suppress production of nitric oxide (NO) and expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated RAW264.7 macrophages. In the macrophages, the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was diminished by HBA. Taken together, HBA possesses anti-angiogenic, anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive activity possibly via its down-regulating activity on NO production, which may be partly responsible for the pharmacological efficacy of several folkloric medicines.