Echinacea purpurea Root Extract Increases Tumor Necrosis Factor Production by Concanavalin A-Activated Murine Splenocytes

is a common herbal remedy used to treat a variety of illnesses, though its health benefits and effects on the immune system have not been fully elucidated. In this study, we investigated the effect of root extract on the survival of concanavalin A (ConA)-activated murine splenocytes and the producti...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of medicinal food Vol. 22; no. 11; p. 1146
Main Authors Cadiz, Mikaela P, Schara, Mackenzie R, Kemp, Bailey H, Gibbons Johnson, Rachel M
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.11.2019
Subjects
Animals
Cells, Cultured
Concanavalin A
Echinacea - chemistry
Interferon-gamma - metabolism
Interleukin-2 - metabolism
Mice
Mice, Inbred C57BL
Plant Extracts - pharmacology
Plant Roots - chemistry
Spleen - cytology
Spleen - drug effects
Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - metabolism
immunomodulation
herbal supplement
cytokines
Online AccessGet more information

Cover

More Information
Summary:is a common herbal remedy used to treat a variety of illnesses, though its health benefits and effects on the immune system have not been fully elucidated. In this study, we investigated the effect of root extract on the survival of concanavalin A (ConA)-activated murine splenocytes and the production of the cytokines interferon-gamma (IFN- ), interleukin-2 (IL-2), and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) by these cells. We found that root extract did not affect splenocyte survival or IL-2 production and increased IFN- cytokine levels only modestly. However, TNF cytokine production by ConA-activated splenocytes increased in response to root extract treatment in a dose-dependent manner, suggesting that root extract does have immunomodulatory effects.
ISSN:1557-7600
DOI:10.1089/jmf.2019.0065