title: Immunomodulation mediated by a herbal syrup containing a standardized Echinacea root extract: a pilot study in healthy human subjects on cytokine gene expression.
abstract: In this study, the immunomodulatory effect of a triply standardized Echinacea angustifolia root extract (Polinacea(®)) was evaluated in 10 healthy subjects. Ten ml of syrup containing one hundred mg of extract (corresponding to 4.7 mg of Echinacoside and 8.0mg of a high molecular weight-20,000 Da- polysaccharide) were administered as a herbal syrup once a day for one month. The immunomodulatory effect was evaluated before and after herbal syrup administration evaluating the expression levels of the cytokines IL-2, IL-8, IL-6 and TNF-α. Cytokine expression was studied in lympho-monocytes and in plasma samples measuring the mRNA and protein levels, respectively. The results were analysed by ANOVA and non-parametric Friedman rank sum tests; when possible it was adopted a pair-wise comparisons at different post-treatment times, using the paired t-tests with Holm correction. The correlation between the variations of cytokine plasma levels and the respective mRNA was carried out using a linear regression model. In lympho-monocytes our data indicate the up-regulation of the mRNA levels of IL-2 and IL-8 and the down regulation of the mRNA levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL6. The differential regulation was maximal after 14 days of treatment. IL-2 up-regulation and IL-6 down-regulation were also confirmed at the protein level in plasma. Finally, the up-regulation of the mRNA of IL-2/IL-8 and the down-regulation of IL-6 positively correlated with the protein levels detected in the plasma. In conclusion, this pilot study suggests a relevant role for the standardized Echinacea angustifolia root extract in the control of cytokine expression. This first demonstration of the immuno-modulating activity of Echinacea angustifolia root extract in the healthy subject, supports at least in part the common use of such products as health promoting supplement.
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, Cattinara Hospital, University of Trieste, Strada di Fiume 447, Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dapas
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Padova, Via F. Marzolo 5, 35131 Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dall'Acqua
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Via Valerio 28, 34127 Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bulla
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Via Valerio 28, 34127 Trieste, Italy; Institute for Maternal and Child Health IRCCS Burlo Garofolo, Via dell'Istria 65/1, 34100 Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Agostinis
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Trieste, P.le Europa 1, 34127 Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Perissutti
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Via Valerio 28, 34127 Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Invernizzi
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, Cattinara Hospital, University of Trieste, Strada di Fiume 447, Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Grassi
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Trieste, P.le Europa 1, 34127 Trieste, Italy. Electronic address: vojnovic@units.it.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Voinovich
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood*; D015536:Down-Regulation; D020900:Echinacea / Q000737:chemistry*; D005260:Female; D006027:Glycosides / Q000494:pharmacology; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006801:Humans; D056747:Immunomodulation; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000097:blood; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood; D016209:Interleukin-8 / Q000097:blood; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009000:Monocytes / Q000187:drug effects; D010865:Pilot Projects; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000737:chemistry; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: C508606:CXCL8 protein, human; D016207:Cytokines; D006027:Glycosides; C508594:IL2 protein, human; C508600:IL6 protein, human; D007376:Interleukin-2; D015850:Interleukin-6; D016209:Interleukin-8; D010936:Plant Extracts; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; C060297:echinacoside
keywords: Cytokines; Echinacea angustifolia root standardized extract (Polinacea(®)); Herbal syrup; Human gene expression; Immune stimulating activity