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Immunomodulatory and cellular antioxidant activities of pure compounds from Teucrium ramosissimum Desf.

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Tumor Biology

Abstract

Evaluation of the immunomodulatory activity of plant compounds is an interesting and growing area of research. Teucrium ramosissimum Desf. is a native and endemic medicinal plant from the South of Tunisia traditionally used for the treatment of many diseases. The anti-inflammatory activity of apigenin-7-glucoside, genkwanin, and naringenin isolated from T. ramosissimum were assayed. The phagocytic activities of macrophage and lymphocyte proliferation were investigated in the absence and presence of mitogens (lipopolysaccharide [LPS] or lectin). Depending on the concentrations, the compounds affect macrophage functions by modulating their lysosomal enzyme activity and nitric oxide (NO) release. The tested compounds enhance significantly splenocyte proliferation, either with or without mitogen stimulation. In studies to assess any potential effects of apigenin-7-glucoside, genkwanin, and naringenin on innate immunity, the results showed that these compounds significantly enhanced the killing activity of natural killer (NK) cells and cytotoxic activity of the T lymphocyte (CTL) isolated from splenocytes. These results suggest that T. ramosissimum compounds such as apigenin-7-glucoside, genkwanin, and naringenin may be potentially useful for modulating immune cell functions in physiological and pathological conditions.

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the financial support from the “Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Technology, Tunisia.”

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unit of Bioactive Natural Substances and Biotechnology UR12ES12, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Monastir, Avicenne Street, Monastir, 5000, Tunisia

    Nouha Nasr-Bouzaiene, Aicha Sassi, Ahmed Bedoui, Mounira Krifa & Leila Chekir-Ghedira

  2. Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Dental Medicine, University of Monastir, Avicenne Street, Monastir, 5000, Tunisia

    Nouha Nasr-Bouzaiene, Aicha Sassi, Ahmed Bedoui, Mounira Krifa, Leila Chekir-Ghedira & Kamel Ghedira

Authors
  1. Nouha Nasr-Bouzaiene
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  2. Aicha Sassi
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  3. Ahmed Bedoui
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  4. Mounira Krifa
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  5. Leila Chekir-Ghedira
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  6. Kamel Ghedira
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Correspondence to Leila Chekir-Ghedira.

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Nasr-Bouzaiene, N., Sassi, A., Bedoui, A. et al. Immunomodulatory and cellular antioxidant activities of pure compounds from Teucrium ramosissimum Desf.. Tumor Biol. 37, 7703–7712 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13277-015-4635-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13277-015-4635-0

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