IMMUNOMODULATING ACTIVITY OF CHINESE MEDICINAL HERBS AND OLDENLANDIA-DIFFUSA IN PARTICULAR

The effect of eight different Chinese medicinal herbs (CMHs) on lympho cytes was studied in vitro using murine spleen cells. Among the studie d eight CMHs, Astragalus membranaceus and Oldenlandia diffusa markedly stimulated murine spleen cells to proliferate. The responder cells fo r CMHs were B cells, because the response was depleted by the treatmen t of spleen cells with anti-immunoglobulin (Ig) antibody and complemen t and after purification by nylon wool column. This response was not d ue to contamination by lipopolysaccharide (LPS), because CMHs could st imulate C3H/HeJ spleen cells which are low responders to LPS. CMHs enh anced the production of Ig. CMHs also enhanced the induction of allo-a ntigen specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes. However, CMHs had no effect o n natural killer cells. Furthermore, CMHs stimulated macrophages to pr oduce interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor. The electroelution of t he proteins from SDS-PAGE gel showed that the active components of Old enlandia diffusa had an apparent molecular weight of 90-200 kD and wer e sensitive to pronase E and NaIO4 treatment, suggesting glycoproteins in nature. These results suggest that CMHs have immunomodulating acti vity in vitro and this activity could be used clinically for the modul ation of immune responses. (C) 1998 International Society for Immunoph armacology.