Abstract: Ocimum sanctum (O. sanctum) has gained special attention due to its biological properties, however, little is known about its immunomodulatory effects. The purpose of this study was to investigate effect of O. sanctum on inflammation and immune response and its effect on Th1/Th2 cytokine production by spleen cells of myelosuppressed mice model. Female Swiss albino mice were challenged with SRBC and then were grouped and treated with either O. sanctum methanolic extract 850 mg kg-1 or Prednisolone 5 mg kg-1 body weight for 15 days. Blood was collected on 16th day from retro orbital plexus to perform hematological and immunological tests. Bone marrow cellularity was determined and supernatants of splenocytes cultures were analyzed for Th1/Th2 cytokines by ELISA. Antioxidant activity of O. sanctum was evaluated by DPPH (2,2'-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) assay. Treatment with O. sanctum showed significant increase in bone marrow cellularity (p<0.01), total WBC count (p<0.01) and hemoglobin concentration (p<0.01). In addition, there was a significant increase in SRBC antibody titer (1:1024) compared to the control group (1:256). O. sanctum increased the production of TNF-α, IL-2, IFN- γ and IL-4 (p<0.05) significantly and decreased the production of IL-1β and NF-kB. The methanolic extracts of O. sanctum showed free radical scavenging activity at 140 μg mL-1 concentration as IC50. This study documented improved haemoglobin concentration with O. sanctum treatment. These results support the use of this herb for wound healing and infection. The results also suggest potential use of O. sanctum as adjuvant in cancer therapy, myelotoxicity and in nutritional anemia.
R. Hemalatha, K. Narendra Babu, M. Karthik, R. Ramesh, B. Dinesh Kumar and P. Uday Kumar, 2011. Immunomodulatory Activity and Th1/Th2 Cytokine Response of Ocimum sanctum in Myelosuppressed Swiss Albino Mice. Trends in Medical Research, 6: 23-31.
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