title: Indian freshwater edible snail Bellamya bengalensis lipid extract prevents T cell mediated hypersensitivity and inhibits LPS induced macrophage activation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Soup prepared from the foot of fresh water edible snail, Bellamya bengalensis, is traditionally consumed by the tribes of Jharkhand against rheumatism like bone and joint inflammation. As rheumatism has underlying involvement of cell mediated hypersensitivity, in vivo delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) model and in vitro LPS-induced macrophage signaling were studied to delineate the mechanism by which Bellamya bengalensis exerts its ethnomedicinal function. Since the whole meat is consumed, the lipid of Bellamya bengalensis (BBL) was hypothesized to be the active part.
  
  
  METHODS
  BBL isolated from the foot part of this species, was characterized and given by gavage daily (10mg BBL/kg; 20mg BBL/kg) to mice for 3 weeks prior to initiating development of DTH. Effects of DTH induced changes in paw diameter, serum nitric oxide (NO), serum tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α level, CINC1 level, splenic CD4(+)/CD8(+) cell ratios, and level of splenic Treg cells were then compared with values in untreated control mice. In vitro effect of BBL on LPS-stimulated macrophage, the immune cell that is active in DTH, was assessed by NF-kB p65 nuclear translocation, reactive oxygen species (ROS), TNFα, and NO production.
  
  
  RESULTS
  BBL was characterized, and its supplementation in situ led to significant decrease in paw edema, tissue myeloperoxidase activity, NO level, serum TNFα level and CINC 1 level as well as decrease in splenic CD4(+)/CD8(+) ratios and increase in level of Treg cells. BBL was shown to inhibit ROS, NO, and TNFα production along with NF-kB p65 nuclear translocation in LPS stimulated macrophage.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Bellamya bengalensis, traditionally used against diseases with underlying etiology of cell mediated immunity as in rheumatism, which acts through inhibition of overexpressed cell mediated immunity. The factor exerting this activity probably is the oleic acid and cyclopropane fatty acid rich lipid, isolated after the ethnomedicinal clue, from the foot of this species.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University of Calcutta, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: Sourav
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bhattacharya
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University of Calcutta, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: Mousumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chakraborty
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University of Calcutta, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: Madhura
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bose
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University of Calcutta, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: Debarati
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mukherjee
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Technology, University of Calcutta, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: Anadi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Roychoudhury
authors.affiliation: Food and Nutrition Division, Department of Home Science, University of Calcutta, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: Pubali
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dhar
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University of Calcutta, West Bengal, India. Electronic address: roshnaramishra@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Roshnara
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mishra
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004487:Edema / Q000188:drug therapy; D006968:Hypersensitivity, Delayed / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D007194:India; D007249:Inflammation / Q000188:drug therapy; D008055:Lipids / Q000737:chemistry; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology; D008262:Macrophage Activation / Q000187:drug effects*; D008264:Macrophages / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D051379:Mice; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D012908:Snails; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D008055:Lipids; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides
keywords: Bellamya bengalensis; Delayed-type hypersensitivity; Fresh water edible snail; Immune-modulation; Inflammation