ISSN 2756-3413
African Journal of Virology Research ISSN 3421-7347 Vol. 1 (5), pp. 086-089, May, 2007. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
A study of the immunomodulatory potential of an Indian medicinal plant
*Konwar Rahman1, Pande Bhatia1 and Singh Pradhan2
1Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Rajiv Gandhi University, Arunachal Pradesh, India.
2Department of Microbiology, Hargobind Khurana School of Life Sciences, Assam University, Assam, India.
*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected].
Accepted 21 March, 2007
Abstract
In this study the immunomodulatory potential of an Indian medicinal plant, Nyctanthes arbor-tristis L. (Oleaceae), was investigated. The leaf extracts of N. arbor-tristis is used to treat arthritis, lung injury and some painful conditions such as cancer, chronic fever and rheumatism. An ethanolic extract of N. arbor-tristis (NAEE) was screened in rats for humoral and cell-mediated immune responses. Oral administration of the NAEE to rats at a dose of 50, 100, 150 and 200 mg/kg significantly enhanced the circulating antibody titre when challenged with sheep red blood cells (SRBC) and heat -killed Salmonella antigens. The chronic administration of NAEE increased the total counts of white blood cells (WBC) and potentated the delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) reactions. The present study confirms the strong immuno-bioactivities in extracts of Nyctanthes arbor-tristis L.
Key words: Immuno-bioactivities, Nyctanthes arbor-tristis, anti inflammatory, humoral immunity, delayed-type hypersensitivity.