Immunostimulant properties of some plants from Siberia
An in vivo experiment studied the effect of aqueous-alcoholic extracts from raw materials of 6 little investigated medicinal plant species of the families Lamiaceae and Rosaceae, which had antimicrobial activity, on phagocytosis and proliferation of immunocompetent organs. The immunostimulant- effect of the phytopreparations was determined in the experiment on two-month-old inbred CBA/CaLac mice of both sexes. The test preparations were administered at a dose of 50 mg/kg into the stomach of the experimental animals for 5 days. Their effect on the functional activity of neutrophils was evaluated using the NCT test; the stimulated phagocytosis of peripheral blood neutrophils and peritoneal fluid was assessed. The extracts from the raw material of the examined plants were ascertained to exert a pronounced immunostimulant effect differently The majority of the extracts were also found to have a negative effect on lymphoproliferative processes in the spleen. Coluria geoides Lebed. and Nepeta sibirica L. are most promising as an immunotropic drug to be further investigated. The pronounced ability of a phytopreparation from N. sibirica raw material to stimulate the bactericidity of phagocytes (Lamiaceae) in the NCT test also deserves attention.