Abstract
BackgroundAllium sativum L. (A.S.) “garlic”, one of the most interesting medicinal plants, has been suggested to contain compounds that could be beneficial in numerous pathological situations including cancer. In this work, we aimed to assess the immunomodulatory effect of A.S. preparation on human peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy individuals.MethodsNontoxic doses of A.S. were identified using MTT assay. Effects on CD4+ or CD8+ T lymphocyte proliferation were studied using flow cytometry. The effect of A.S. on cytokine gene expression was studied using qRT-PCR. Finally, qualitative analysis of A.S. was performed by HPLC approach. Data were analyzed statistically by one-way ANOVA test.ResultsThe nontoxic doses of A.S. preparation did not affect neither spontaneous nor TCR-mediated CD4+ or CD8+ T lymphocyte proliferation. Interestingly, A.S. exhibited a statistically significant regulation of IL-17 gene expression, a cytokine involved in several inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. In contrast, the expression of IL-4, an anti-inflammatory cytokine, was unaffected. Qualitative analysis of A.S. ethanol preparation indicated the presence of three polyphenol bioactive compounds, which are catechin, vanillic acid and ferulic acid.ConclusionThe specific inhibition of the pro-inflammatory cytokine, IL-17 without affecting cell proliferation in human PBMCs by the Allium sativum L. preparation suggests a potential valuable effect of the compounds present in this plant for the treatment of inflammatory diseases and cancer, where IL-17 is highly expressed. The individual contribution of these three compounds to this global effect will be assessed.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12906-016-1365-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Allium sativum L. (A.S.) “garlic”, one of the most interesting medicinal plants, has been suggested to contain compounds that could be beneficial in numerous pathological situations including cancer
Evaluation of the cytotoxicity of Allium sativum preparation to human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMCs) In order to assess the immunomodulatory effect of the A.S. preparation, we started by evaluating cell toxicity of different doses of A.S
This study showed that A.S. extract contains compounds, which could be used in non toxic doses and without affecting T cell proliferation, to modulate IL-17 gene expression by significantly stimulating its expression in the absence of prior PBMC activation; and to significantly inhibit its expression when PBMCs are stimulated with a mitogen such as PHA
Summary
Allium sativum L. (A.S.) “garlic”, one of the most interesting medicinal plants, has been suggested to contain compounds that could be beneficial in numerous pathological situations including cancer. (A.S.) “garlic”, one of the most interesting medicinal plants, has been suggested to contain compounds that could be beneficial in numerous pathological situations including cancer. Among T lymphocytes, CD4+ T cells are subdivided into various subpopulations such as Th1, Th2 and Th17 cells. Our main interest is to identify phyto-molecules capable of regulating specific pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-17, which is implicated in various pathological situations including autoimmunity [8] and cancer [7, 9, 10]. Allium sativum L., a member of the Liliaceae family, is used universally as a flavoring agent in traditional medicine and to enhance physical and mental health [11,12,13,14,15]. A.S. and its specific ingredients, organosulphur compounds, are thought to affect the immune system [18]
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