Bamboo leaves ( Phyllostachys pubescens Mazel ex J. Houz ( Poacea )) have a long history of food and medical applications in Asia, including Japan and Korea. They have been used as a traditional medicine for centuries. We investigated the mechanism of anti-inflammatory activity of a bamboo leaf extract (BLE) on tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α)-induced monocyte adhesion in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Exposure of HUVECs to BLE did not inhibit cell viability or cause morphological changes at concentrations ranging from 1 µg/ml to 1 mg/ml. Treatment with 0.1 mg/ml BLE caused 63% inhibition of monocyte adhesion in TNF-α-activated HUVECs, which was associated with 38.4% suppression of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 expression. Furthermore, TNF-α-induced reactive oxygen species generation was decreased to 47.9% in BLE treated TNF-α-activated HUVECs. BLE (0.05 mg/ml) also caused about 50% inhibition of interleukin-6 secretion from lipopolysaccharide-stimulated monocyte. The results indicate that BLE may be clinically useful as an anti-inflammatory or anti-oxidant for human cardiovascular disease including atherosclerosis.