IMMUNOSTIMULATING ACTIVITY OF CELOSIAN, AN ANTIHEPATOTOXIC POLYSACCHARIDE ISOLATED FROM CELOSIA-ARGENTEA

Celosian, an acidic polysaccharide from the seeds of Celosia argentea (Amaranthaceae) was found to be a potent antihepatotoxic agent for che mical and immunological liver injury models in animals. The immunomodu lating action of celosian was studied to clarify the preventive mechan ism of celosian on liver injuries. Celosian induced tumor necrosis fac tor-alpha (TNF-alpha) production in mice. Celosian also induced the pr oduction of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) and nitric oxide (NO) in ma crophage cell line J774.1 in a concentration-dependent manner (1 to 10 00 mu g/ml). Moreover, celosian induced IL-1 beta secretion in human m ononuclear cells. In addition, celosian enhanced gamma interferon (IFN -gamma) production activity of concanavalin A (Con A) in mice spleen c ells, though celosian alone did not significantly influence IFN-gamma production. These results indicate that celosian is an immunostimulati ng agent in addition to antihepatotoxic effects.