Effects of hydroalcoholic extract of Glycyrrhiza glabra and glycyrrhizic acid on nitric oxide production in peritoneal macrophages of Leishmania major infected BALB/c mice

Shima Sheikhi | Tayebeh Radjabian | Tooba Ghazanfari | Ali Khamesipour

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URL :   http://research.shahed.ac.ir/WSR/WebPages/Report/PaperView.aspx?PaperID=106106
Date :  2018/04/28
Publish in :    14th Internatinal Congress of Immunology

Link :  http://icia.ir/
Keywords :Nitric Oxide, Macrophage activation, Leishmania major, Glycyrrhiza glabra

Abstract :

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Background: Cutaneous leishmaniasis is a neglected disease caused by different species of Leishmania. The macrophage lineage is the main cell for the growth of Leishmania and nitric oxide(NO) production by them is one of the ways to destroy microorganisms. There are some natural drugs, including Glycyrrhiza glabra extract and its components, which showed to act as immunomodulator and enhance macrophage activation. The aim of this study was to explore the effect of hydroalcoholic extract of G. glabra and its main component glycyrrhizic acid on macrophage NO production in Leishmania major infected BALB/c mice. Methods: 35 Leishmania major infected BALB/c mice were randomly divided into 5 groups; the groups of mice were treated intraperitoneally for one month as following; 200 or 600 mg/kg of G. glabra root extract, its component glycyrrhizic acid (200mg/kg), Glucantime (160 mg/kg) or phosphate buffered saline as a negative control. The mice were sacrificed and the peritoneal macrophages were removed and the nitric oxide level was measured using Griess test. Results: The mean production of nitric oxide in macrophages of groups received 200 or 600 mg/kg of the extracts, glycyrrhizic acid, Glucantime, and negative control was11.7, 9.7, 5.1, 6.9 and 3.6nmol/ml, respectively. The highest amount of nitric oxide was produced in the groups that received the extract, and it was statistically significant in comparison with the negative control, or glycyrrhizic acid or Glucantime treated groups. Conclusion: The hydroalcoholic root extract of G. glabra induced macrophage activation, which resulted in an increase in nitric oxide production in macrophages of Leishmania major infected BALB/c mice.

http://icia.ir/