Humoral and cellular mediated immune responses in legume fed mice after zinc supplementation

• Published in: Nutrition research (New York, N.Y.) Vol. 12; no. 7; pp. 905 - 914
• Main Authors: Macarulla, M T, Marcos, R B, Martinez, JA, Larralde, J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 1992
• Subjects: cellular mediated immunity; humoral immunocompetence; legume protein; mice; Vicia faba; zinc; legume protein; Vicia faba; cellular mediated immunity; mice; zinc; humoral immunocompetence
• ISSN: 0271-5317; 1879-0739
• DOI: 10.1016/S0271-5317(05)80647-5

The effects of graded amounts of zinc (30 or 60 μg/g) in legume protein diets on humoral and cellular mediated immune responses of mice has been investigated by measuring the antibody formation to sheep red blood cells (SRBC), the number of direct rosette forming cells (RFC) after immunogenic stimulation with SRBC and the splenic lymphocyte responsiveness to Concanavalin A (Con A), Phytohemagglutinin (PHA) and Lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The nutritional efficiency of the diets was significantly improved in the animals fed the 60 μg/g zinc diet as compared with the 30 μg/g zinc group, although the values of controls were not reached. Also a spleen and thymus hypertrophy was noted in both faba bean diets. The difference in antibody titres and blastogenic response to Con A and PHA between the mice fed the legume protein diet are mainly attributable to the zinc supplied in the diet, while the lymphocyte stimulation using LPS as mitogen is only partially recovered by zinc supplementation to the diet as compared with controls. The present study shows that immunocompetence is impaired in legume fed mice, and that some immune functions can be totally or partially improved after zinc supplementation