ABSTRACT
Background: Acacia catechu has been widely used in Ayurveda for treating many diseases. Its heartwoodextract is used in asthma, cough, bronchitis, colic, diarrhea, dysentery, boils, skin afflictions, sores and forstomatitis. The decoction of heartwood is used for drinking purpose in southern part of India especiallyin Kerala.Objective: The current study was carried out to evaluate immunomodulatory effects of heartwood extracts of A. catechu in Swiss albino mice.Material and methods: In vivo immunomodulatory activity was analyzed by hemagglutinating antibody(HA) titer, plaque forming cell assay and delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH). In vitro immunomodulatory potential of the extracts was studied using peritoneal macrophages and splenocytes from mice.Effect of extracts on phagocytic activity of macrophages was analyzed by nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT)reduction assay and cellular lysosomal enzyme assay. Anti-inflammatory activity was studied by nitricoxide (NO) assay and production of TNF-a and IL-10.Results: A dose dependent increase in antibody titer was observed with extracts treatment. Treatmentwith extracts produced an enhancement in the number of antibody producing cells in the spleen. DTHreaction was significantly decreased with extracts treatment. An increased phagocytic response wasshown by peritoneal macrophages on treatment with the extracts as evidenced by its effect on NBTreduction and cellular lysosomal enzyme activity. The extracts inhibited the release of pro-inflammatorycytokine TNF-a and the production of NO. IL-10 production was significantly increased after extracttreatment.Conclusion: The results of the present study indicate the immunomodulatory effects of A. catechu extracts on humoral, cell mediated and non-specific immune functions.© 2017 Transdisciplinary University, Bangalore and World Ayurveda Foundation. Publishing Services byElsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).