CIBICI   14215
CENTRO DE INVESTIGACION EN BIOQUIMICA CLINICA E INMUNOLOGIA
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
artículos
Título:
In vivo immunomodulatory effects of aqueous extracts of Larrea divaricata Cav.
Autor/es:
DAVICINO, ROBERTO; MATTAR, AIDA; CASALI, YOLANDA; PORPORATTO CARINA; CORREA, SILVIA G; MICALIZZI, BLAS
Revista:
IMMUNOPHARMACOLOGY AND IMMUNOTOXICOLOGY
Editorial:
Francis & Taylor Group
Referencias:
Año: 2007 vol. 29 p. 351 - 366
ISSN:
0892-3973
Resumen:
Several medicinal plants are considered immunomodulatory as they display a variety of anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and antitumoral effects.  Larrea divaricata Cav. (jarilla) (Zygophyllaceaea) is a plant widely used in popular medicine to treat tumors, infections, and inflammatory diseases.  So far, the immunostimulating activities of Larrea divaricata have not been studied in vivo.  In this work, we used healthy mice to assess the immunomodulatory potential of aqueous extracts of Larrea divaricata Cav. We fund that Decoction (D) and Infusion (I) from Larrea divaricata cav showed any acute hepatotoxic activity. Only D at 0.5 mg/kg increased the carrageenan-induced inflammation. Macrophages harvested from treated mice showed no signs of apoptosis. These cells showed a significant increase in NO and TNF alpha release and exhibited the strongest expression of iNOS. Decoction also increased the phagocytosis of zymosan and the binding of LPS-FITC. The expression of CD14, TLR4 and CR3 was lower in macrophages of mice treated than in controls. Thus, Larrea divaricata was able to prime macrophages in vivo and to induce full activation in vitro. Our findings contribute to characterize the biological activity of Larrea divaricata and to understand the ability of these extracts toetnhance the immune response.