IMMUNOMODULATION BY PYCNOGENOL(R) IN RETROVIRUS-INFECTED OR ETHANOL-FED MICE

Pycnogenol(R) is a commercial mixture of bioflavonoids that exhibits a ntioxidative activity. The effects of dietary pycnogenol on immune dys function in normal mice as well as those fed ethanol or infected with the LP-BM5 murine retrovirus were determined. The ethanol consumption and retrovirus infection cause abnormalities in the function and/or st ructure of a broad array of cells involved in humoral and cellular imm unity. Pycnogenol enhanced in vitro IL-2 production by mitogen-stimula ted splenocytes if its production was suppressed in ethanol-fed or ret rovirus-infected mice. Mitogenesis of splenocytes did not show a signi ficant change in mice treated with pycnogenol. It reduced the elevated levels of interleukin-6 produced in vitro by cells from retrovirus in fected mice and IL-10 secreted by spleen cells from mice consuming eth anol. Natural killer cell cytotoxicity was increased with pycnogenol t reatment.