Asian Journal
Of Traditional Medicines

Abstract: Immunomodulatory activity of Calcined Jade (CJ) was evaluated in male Swiss albino mice. Mice were treated with 4 doses of CJ (50, 75, 100 and 200 µg/kg body weight) for 10 days. Plaque-forming cell (PFC) assay, haemagglutination titre (HT), total IgG, IgG subtypes and IgE antibody level were studied in various groups of animals. Humoral immunity as measured by PFC showed an elevated response at a dose of 75 and 100 µg/kg, but at 50 and 200 µg/kg, no significant effect was observed. In the HT test, CJ also showed modulatory effect at all the doses. CJ elicited a significant increase in total IgG antibody level at all four doses till 60 days of primary immunization. IgG subtype (IgG2a/b, IgG3) were also found to be increased significantly upon CJ administration at all 4 doses till 60 days of primary immunization. No significant effect was observed on the level of IgE antibody level. Overall, CJ showed a stimulatory effect on humoral immune functions in mice. As it is used for a variety of medicinal purposes, its immunostimulatory effect, as reported in this study, strengthens the rationale of its use in several traditional drugs.

Key words: Calcined Jade, Humoral immunity, plaque forming cells, haemagglutination titre, IgG, IgG subtype