Effect of AC II, an Herbal Formulation in Cyclophosphamide-Induced Immunosuppression in BALB/c Mice—Implication in HIV Treatment

Abstract

Effect of AC II, herbal drug formulation in reducing immunosuppression caused by administration of cyclophosphamide was studied. Mice were injected cyclophosphamide (CTX) 50 mg/kg b.wt. for 14 days with or without the drug and total WBC, bone marrow cellularity and α-esterase positive cells were determined. On day 15, total WBC count in cyclophosphamide treated mice was 1500 ± 420 cells/mm3, while in AC II-treated mice it was 7658 ± 376 cells/mm3. On day 16, administration of cyclophosphamide reduced bone marrow cellularity to 3.42 ± 0.38 × 106cells/femur from the normal value of 13.83 ± 0.96 × 106 cells/femur. In AC II treated group bone marrow cellularity was increased to 8.05 ± 0.7 × 106 cells/femur. The number of α-esterase positive cells was found to be reduced to 177 ± 25 cells per 4000 cells in CTX treated groups. But in AC II-treated group the number of α-esterase positive cells were raised to 843 ± 86 cells per 4000 cells, which was closer to that of normal (710 ± 49 cells per 4000 cells). Results indicate the usefulness of AC II to combat immunosuppression induced by chemical and biological agents.