Article

Immunomodulatory activity of the aqueous extract of seeds of Abrus precatorius Linn (Jequirity) in mice.

Centre of Excellence in Biotechnology, Madhya Pradesh Council of Science and Technology, Bhopal Madhya Pradesh, India.
Iranian journal of immunology: IJI 06/2011; 8(2):96-103. DOI:IJIv8i2A5 pp.96-103
Source: PubMed

ABSTRACT Various compounds of plant origin have been widely investigated since ancient times for their possible immunomodulatory properties as well as for the treatment of a wide range of diseases.
To study the immunomodulatory functions of the aqueous extract of the seeds of Abrus precatorius commonly known as Indian liquorice (Fabaceae), a medicinal plant native to central India.
Swiss albino mice were intraperitoneally treated with three doses (0.75, 1.25 and 2.5 µg/kg b.w.) of extract for 7 days. Relative organ weight, delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) response, haemagglutination titre (HT) and Phagocytic index (PI) were studied in various groups of animals.
The results showed no significant difference in relative organ weight of spleen, liver, thymus and kidney in various groups of animals. Treatment of rats with increasing concentrations of the extract decreased the footpad thickness indicating a dose related inhibitory effect of the extract on delayed type hypersensitivity. In the HT test, the plant extract showed a suppressive effect at all doses, and these changes were significant as the dose increased. Phagocytic index was also increased in a dose dependent manner.
The reduction of antibody titre, delayed type hypersensitivity response and the increase in phagocytic index indicates that Abrus precatorius has an inhibitory effect on the immune functions in mice.

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    Article: Involvement of prohibitin upregulation in abrin-triggered apoptosis.
    Yu-Huei Liu, Konan Peck, Jung-Yaw Lin
    [show abstract] [hide abstract]
    ABSTRACT: Abrin (ABR), a protein purified from the seeds of Abrus precatorius, induces apoptosis in various types of cancer cells. However, the detailed mechanism remains largely uncharacterized. By using a cDNA microarray platform, we determined that prohibitin (PHB), a tumor suppressor protein, is significantly upregulated in ABR-triggered apoptosis. ABR-induced upregulation of PHB is mediated by the stress-activated protein kinase/c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (SAPK/JNK) pathway, as demonstrated by chemical inhibitors. In addition, ABR significantly induced the expression of Bax as well as the activation of caspase-3 and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) in Jurkat T cells, whereas the reduction of PHB by specific RNA interference delayed ABR-triggered apoptosis through the proapoptotic genes examined. Moreover, our results also indicated that nuclear translocation of the PHB-p53 complex may play a role in the transcription of Bax. Collectively, our data show that PHB plays a role in ABR-induced apoptosis, which may be helpful for the development of diagnostic or therapeutic agents.
    Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 01/2012; 2012:605154. · 4.77 Impact Factor
Data provided are for informational purposes only. Although carefully collected, accuracy cannot be guaranteed. The impact factor represents a rough estimation of the journal's impact factor and does not reflect the actual current impact factor. Publisher conditions are provided by RoMEO. Differing provisions from the publisher's actual policy or licence agreement may be applicable.

Keywords

7 days
 
Abrus precatorius
 
ancient times
 
central India
 
dose dependent manner
 
DTH
 
footpad thickness
 
immune functions
 
immunomodulatory functions
 
Indian liquorice
 
medicinal plant native
 
mice
 
Phagocytic index
 
possible immunomodulatory properties
 
relative organ weight
 
Swiss albino mice
 
Various compounds
 
various groups
 
wide range
 
µg/kg b.w