Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Immune-enhancing screening of fourteen plants on murine macrophage RAW 264.7 cells

Sunggun Kim¹, Eun-sang Jo¹, Na-Yeun Kim¹, Kwang Woo Hwang², So-Young Park¹

¹Laboratory of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, Dankook University, 119 Dandae-ro, Dongnam-gu, Cheonan-si, Chungnam 31116; ²Laboratory of Host Defense Modulation, College of Pharmacy, Chung-Ang University, 221 Heukseok-dong, Dongjak-gu, Seoul 06974, Republic of Korea.

For correspondence:- So-Young Park Email: soypark23@dankook.ac.kr

Accepted: 20 December 2018 Published: 31 January 2019

Citation: Kim S, Jo E, Kim N, Hwang KW, Park S. Immune-enhancing screening of fourteen plants on murine macrophage RAW 264.7 cells. Trop J Pharm Res 2019; 18(1):85-92 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v18i1.13

© 2019 The authors.
This is an Open Access article that uses a funding model which does not charge readers or their institutions for access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) and the Budapest Open Access Initiative (http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read), which permit unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited..

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the potential immune-enhancing effects of fourteen natural plant extracts on mouse macrophage RAW 264.7 cells.

Methods: Fourteen plant extracts from 7 different plants were tested on RAW 264.7 cells to determine their immunostimulant activities. Methylthiazolydiphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and Griess assays were performed to evaluate cell viability and nitric oxide (NO) production, respectively. Then, immune related proteins were measured by western blot analysis, while cytokines and phagocytic activity were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method.

Results: Among the 14 plant extracts, the hot water extract of Agastache rugose was selected based on the screening results on NO production. The hot water extract of A. rugose significantly increased NO production in a concentration-dependent manner without any cytotoxicity. In addition, the expression levels of proteins (iNOS and COX-2) and cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-12) closely related to immune reaction were also significantly upregulated. Furthermore, phagocytic activity of RAW 264.7 cells significantly increased following treatment with A. rugosa.

Conclusion: The hot water extract of A. rugosa exhibits significant immune-stimulant activity. Therefore, A. rugosa can be used as a natural resource for immune enhancement or dietary supplement.

Keywords: Immune enhancing activity, Macrophage polarization, Natural plant extracts, Agastache rugosa, RAW 264.7