LAUSR

for 1 h and then stimulated with 100 ng/ml LPS. After further 24 h incubation, 100 μl of the medium was used for the measurement of nitrite concentration, and the cells were used for the assessment of viability. The nitrite concentration in the medium was measured using Griess reagent (1% sulfanilamide in 5% H3PO4 and 0.1% N-1-naphtyletylenediamide dihydrochloride), and the cell viability was determined with the WST assay (EZ-Cytox). WST solution was added to each 96-well plate and incubated for 2 h. The optical density (OD) was read at 450 nm. The cell viability was calculated using the following equation: % protection = 100 × (OD of LPS-sample treated cultures or OD of LPS treated cultures)/(OD of control cultures).