Abstract

                                The immune system is one of the most important biological systems of our body. Immunomodulation is either increase or decrease in the immune response. Objective: To evaluate the immunomodulatory activity of the leaves of Thespesia populnea (Family Malvaceae) in cancer cell line induced Balb/c mice. Methods: Various extracts of the leaves of Thespesia populnea (TpFf) were evaluated for the flavonoid content and the higher content of flavonoid was found to be in ethyl acetate extract and it was used to evaluate the potential immunomodulatory activity. The ethyl acetate flavonoid extract was evaluated for immunomodulatory activity in in vivo studies, using Balb/c mice as the animal model. The extract was tested for hematological parameters, immunological parameters, weight and Cellularity of lymphoid organs and Histopathological observation of spleen and thymus, using sheep red blood cells (SRBC) as the antigen. PBS served as a control in all the tests. Findings: The ethyl acetate extract exhibited a significant decrease in the WBC and increase in the RBC and Hb when compared to Ehrlich’s lymphoma ascites (ELA) and Dalton’s lymphoma ascites (DLA) induced groups. It also resulted in a significant increase in the IL-2, IFN-γ, weight of spleen and thymus and Cellularity of lymphoid organs and malignant changes observed in the DLA and EAC tumor induced spleen and thymus sections. Conclusion: The ethyl acetate extract was found to stimulate the immune responses in Balb/c mice induced ELA and DLA.

Key words : immunomodulation, ethyl acetate, malvaceae, ELA, DLA