Effects of Plant Water Extract Mixture Ixeris sonchifolia Hance, Oenanthevjavanica, Fagopyrum Esculentum Moench, Hizikia Fusiforme, Zingiber Officinale Roscoe on Mouse Immune Cell Activation Ex vivo

ABSTRACT

Ixeris sonchifolia Hance (Godulbaegi), Oenanthe javanica (Dolminari), Fagopyrum esculentum Moench (Buckwheat), Hizikia fusiforme (Seaweed Fusiforme) and Zingiber officinale Roscoe (Ginger) have been used respectively as one of folk remedies as well as food materials. However, reportedly few studies on their immunomodulating effects have been made, although it has been known from other preceding studies that the ex vivo supplementation of each Ish, Oj, Fem, Hf, Zor water extracts tends to enhance the proliferation of splenocyte in comparison to the control group. This study on the combined immunomodulative effect of water extract mixture of these five food materials (Ish + Oj + Fem + Hf + Zor) lasted covering seven or eight weeks. The old mice (balb/c) was fed ad libitum on chow diet, and the water extract of plant mixture was orally administrated every other day for four weeks at two different concentrations (50 and 500 mg/kg B.W). After preparing the single cell suspension, the proliferation of splenocyte was determined by MTT (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-y]-2,5- diphenyl terazolium bromide) assay. The production of cytokine (IL-1beta, IL-6, and TNF-alpha) which was secreted by macrophages stimulated with LPS or not was detected by ELISA assay using the cytokine kit. After the 48 hours of incubation with the mitogen (ConA or LPS) stimulation, the proliferation of the mice splenocyt in the experimental group statisticaly increased at both of two different concentrations in comparison to the control group. The cytokines production was more significantly enhanced at the lower supplementation (50 mg/kg B.W.) group than at the higher concentration (500 mg/kg B.W.). The result of this study may suggest that the supplementation of water extract of plant mixture can regulate and enhance the immune function by increasing the splenocyte proliferation and regulating the cytokine production capacity by the activated macrophages in mice.