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Appraisal of immunomodulatory potential of Spirulina fusiformis: an in vivo and in vitro study

Journal of Natural Medicines volume 63, Article number: 169 (2009) Cite this article

Abstract

In recent years, Spirulina has gained more and more attention from medical scientists as a nutraceutical and a source of potential pharmaceuticals. The present study was conducted to elucidate the immunomodulatory effect of Spirulina fusiformis (a cyanobacterium of the family Oscillatoriaceae) in vivo and in vitro. The in vivo effect of S. fusiformis (400 or 800 mg/kg body wt.) on humoral immune response, cell-mediated immune response and tumour necrosis factor alpha was investigated in mice. We also evaluated the effect of S. fusiformis (50 or 100 μg/ml) in vitro on mitogen (phytohaemagglutinin)-induced T lymphocyte proliferation in heparinized human peripheral blood. For comparison, dexamethasone was used as a standard. In mice, S. fusiformis (400 or 800 mg/kg body wt.) administration significantly inhibited the humoral immune response, cell-mediated immune response (delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction (DTH)) and tumour necrosis factor alpha in a dose-dependent manner. In vitro, S. fusiformis (50 or 100 μg/ml) decreased the mitogen (phytohaemagglutinin)-induced T lymphocyte proliferation in a concentration-dependent manner when compared with control cells. These observations clearly suggest that S. fusiformis has a remarkable immunosuppressive effect, which provides a scientific validation for the popular use of this drug, and helped us in further work on investigating its complete mechanism of action.

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Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Heath and Life Sciences, Management and Science University, Sekysen 13, 40100, Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

    Mahaboobkhan Rasool

  2. School of Biotechnology, Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, VIT University, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India

    Evan Prince Sabina

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  1. Mahaboobkhan Rasool
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  2. Evan Prince Sabina
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Correspondence to Mahaboobkhan Rasool.

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Rasool, M., Sabina, E.P. Appraisal of immunomodulatory potential of Spirulina fusiformis: an in vivo and in vitro study. J Nat Med 63, 169 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11418-008-0308-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11418-008-0308-2

Keywords

  • Spirulina fusiformis
  • Dexamethasone
  • Lymphocyte proliferation
  • Humoral immune response
  • Cell-mediated immune response
  • Tumour necrosis factor alpha