title: Effects of rooibos tea extract on antigen-specific antibody production and cytokine generation in vitro and in vivo.
abstract: Rooibos tea contains a large amount of flavonoids and acts as a potent antioxidant. In this study, we examined the effects of Rooibos tea extract on antigen-specific antibody production and cytokine generation in vitro and in vivo. The primary in vitro anti-ovalbumin (anti-OVA) or sheep red blood cell (SRBC) antibody production in murine splenocytes was markedly stimulated by the addition of the tea extract at concentrations of 1-100 microg/ml. On the other hand, a nonspecific antibody response elicited with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in purified splenic B-cells was not modified by the extract. Rooibos tea extract caused an increase in the generation of interleukin 2 (IL-2) both in OVA- and anti-CD3-primed splenocytes at concentrations ranging from 10 microg/ml to 1000 microg/ml. In contrast, this tea extract suppressed the generation of interleukin 4 (IL-4) in OVA-primed splenocytes. Moreover, the reduction of OVA-induced antibody production in serum of the cyclosporin A (CyA) -treated rats can be significantly restored and the IL-2 generation in murine splenocytes was stimulated, following oral administrations of Rooibos tea extract. Thus, our findings suggested that Rooibos tea extract may facilitate the antigen-specific antibody production through selective augmentation of IL-2 generation both in vitro and in vivo. Collectively, Rooibos tea intake may be of value in prophylaxis of the diseases involving a severe defect in Th1 immune response such as cancer, allergy, AIDS, and other infections.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunochemistry, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kunishiro
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tai
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D001628:Beverages; D016207:Cytokines / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D005260:Female; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D010047:Ovalbumin / Q000276:immunology; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000276:immunology / Q000494:pharmacology; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D019685:Rosales / Q000737:chemistry; D013047:Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D007376:Interleukin-2; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D010936:Plant Extracts; D015847:Interleukin-4; D010047:Ovalbumin