title: Immunomodulatory effects of preparations from Anthroposophical Medicine for parenteral use.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Preparations from anthroposophical medicine (AM) are clinically used to treat inflammatory disorders. We wanted to investigate effects of a selection of AM medications for parenteral use in cell-based systems in vitro.
  
  
  METHODS
  Colchicum officinale tuber D3, Mandragora D3, Rosmarinus officinale 5% and Bryophyllum 5% were selected for the experiments. Induction of apoptosis and necrosis (human lymphocytes and dendritic cells [DCs]) and proliferation of lymphocytes as well as maturation (expression of CD14, CD83 and CD86) and cytokine secretion (IL-10, IL12p70) of DCs were analyzed. Furthermore, proliferation of allogeneic human T lymphocytes was investigated in vitro in coculture experiments using mature DCs in comparison to controls.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The respective preparations did not induce apoptosis or necrosis in lymphocytes or DCs. Lymphocyte proliferation was dose-dependently reduced by Colchicum officinale tuber D3 while the viability was unchanged. Rosmarinus officinale 5%, but not the other preparations, dose-dependently inhibited the maturation of immature DCs, reduced secretion of IL-10 and IL-12p70 and slightly inhibited proliferation of allogeneic CD4(+) T-lymphocytes in coculture experiments with DCs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The selected preparations from AM for parenteral use are nontoxic to lymphocytes and DCs. Rosmarinus officinale 5% has immunosuppressive properties on key functions of the immune system which propose further investigation.
authors.affiliation: Center for Complementary Medicine, Institute for Environmental Health Sciences, University Medical Center Freiburg, Breisacher Str. 115B, 79106, Freiburg, Germany. carsten.gruendemann@uniklinik-freiburg.de.
authors.forename: Carsten
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gründemann
authors.affiliation: Center for Complementary Medicine, Institute for Environmental Health Sciences, University Medical Center Freiburg, Breisacher Str. 115B, 79106, Freiburg, Germany. christoph.diegel@uniklinik-freiburg.de.
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Diegel
authors.affiliation: Center for Complementary Medicine, Institute for Environmental Health Sciences, University Medical Center Freiburg, Breisacher Str. 115B, 79106, Freiburg, Germany. barbara.sauer@uniklinik-freiburg.de.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sauer
authors.affiliation: Center for Complementary Medicine, Institute for Environmental Health Sciences, University Medical Center Freiburg, Breisacher Str. 115B, 79106, Freiburg, Germany. manuel.garcia-kaeufer@uniklinik-freiburg.de.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Garcia-Käufer
authors.affiliation: Center for Complementary Medicine, Institute for Environmental Health Sciences, University Medical Center Freiburg, Breisacher Str. 115B, 79106, Freiburg, Germany. roman.huber@uniklinik-freiburg.de.
authors.forename: Roman
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Huber
mesh_terms: D000887:Anthroposophy; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D007155:Immunologic Factors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D007155:Immunologic Factors; D010936:Plant Extracts