###### Abstract  
Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease mediated by airway inflammation. Jakyakgamcho-tang (JGT), a traditional medicine, is widely subscribed to common diseases such as muscle pain and cramps in East Asian countries. Although the efficacy of JGT on peripheral neuropathy, gouty arthritis, and colitis has been reported, the effect of JGT on airway inflammation related to asthma is not clearly investigated. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of JGT water extract (JGTW) on factors related to airway inflammation using the human bronchial epithelial BEAS-2B and the mouse monocyte-macrophage RAW264.7 cell lines. Furthermore, the constituents in JGTW were quantitatively and qualitatively studied for future reference of JGTW standardization. JGTW reduced the generation of several airway inflammation mediators such as equcaxins, regulated on activation normal T-cell expressed and secreted (RANTES), and matrix metalloproteinase-9, and expressions of adhesion molecules (ICAM-1 and VCAM-1), which attracts leukocytes to the site of inflammation in interleukin-4 + tumor necrosis factor-\(\alpha\) (IT)-stimulated BEAS-2B cells. In lipopolysaccharide-standardized RAW264.7 cells, JGTW effectively suppressed inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) induction by inhibiting the MAPK and NF-\(\kappa\)B signaling. In addition, JGTW treatment showed decreased inflammatory cells and Th2 cytokines in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and decreased IgE levels in plasma in the OVA-induced asthmatic mice model. In the ultra-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector-tandem mass spectrometry analysis, 24 phytochemicals were identified in JGTW, and paeoniflorin (63.971 mg/g) and glycyrrhizin (11.853 mg/g) were found to be the most abundant. These findings suggest that JGTW has anti-inflammatory effects on airway inflammation by regulating inflammatory response-related factors, possibly through MAPK and NF-\(\kappa\)B in pulmonary epithelial cells and macrophages. Jakyakgamcho-tang; bronchial epithelial cell; macrophage; airway inflammation; UPLC-DAD-MS/MS +
Footnote †: journal:  
inflammatory cells to infiltrate [5]. The infiltration of inflammatory cells occurs because leukocytes increase adhesion to pulmonary epithelial cells by increasing the expression of adhesion molecules on the surface of cells [6]. Overexpression of adhesion molecules, such as intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), in airway epithelial cells is associated with infiltration of inflammatory cells, which is implicated in the pathogenesis of airway inflammatory diseases like asthma [7]. Therefore, regulating these inflammatory mediators in pulmonary epithelial cells could help alleviate airway inflammation leading to relieving symptoms of asthma and other respiratory diseases. Macrophages are the predominant immune cells in the lungs and play a key role in airway inflammation and hyper-responsiveness in asthma by balancing inflammatory and anti-inflammatory responses [8; 9]. As reducing inflammation is one of the primary goals in the treatment of asthma, suppressing inflammatory responses of macrophages is beneficial for reducing symptoms of asthma. Traditionally, herbal medicine has been used to treat various diseases, although it has been evaluated as lacking scientific evidence for application to indications in modern medicine. Still, there is a demand to find new indications using existing herbal medicine prescriptions due to its proven safety of years of common usage. The main purpose of our study project is to investigate the effectiveness of herbal medicines widely used in Korea in relieving symptoms related to asthma, such as airway inflammation. Jakyakgamcho-tang (JGT), also known as Shaoyao-gancao-tang in Chinese and Shakuyakukanzo-to in Japanese, is a traditional medicine commonly used in Korea, China, and Japan. JGT contains two herbal ingredients, _Paeonia lactiflora_ Pall. (root) and _Glycyrrhiza alrensis_ Fisch. (root and rhizome), in a ratio of 1:1 (\(w/w\)).