Corchorus olitorius L. increased NK cell and macrophage functions on the cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppressed rat

The present study aimed on understanding the activities of herbal extracts, focusing on Corchorus olitorius L (Molokhia), known for its several biological effects. We found the immune enhancing effect of water extracts of C. olitorius L. (WEC) in a cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppressed rat. Namely, WEC increased the populations of neutrophils, and lymphocytes in the blood. In splenocytes, the activating markers of natural killer (NK) cell such as CD56, CD16, NKp46 and NKp30 were significantly upregulated. The protein expressions of CD69 (T-cell marker), CD56 (NK cell marker), and NKp30, and NKp46 (NK cell activator markers) are significantly upregulated on splenocytes. Additionally, the surface markers of M1 macrophages, such as CD80, CD11b/c+, and MHC-II were amplified with WEC treatment in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, the mRNA expression of cytokines (IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-12, IL-18, IL-1β, and TNF-α), NOS2, NLRP3, MAPKs and NF-κB were significantly improved. These results demonstrated that WEC augments an immune activity and may represent a potential immunostimulant for an immunity of human.