title: Sodium benzoate, a food preservative, affects the functional and activation status of splenocytes at non cytotoxic dose.
abstract: Sodium benzoate (SB) is a widely used food preservative due to its bacteriostatic and fungistatic properties. The acceptable daily intake of SB is 5 mg/kg-bw, however, it has been found to be used in the food commodities at relatively high levels (2119 mg/kg). Earlier studies on SB have shown its immunosuppressive properties, but comprehensive immunotoxicity data is lacking. Our studies have shown that SB was non cytotoxic in splenocytes up to 1000 μg/ml for 72 h, however at 2500 μg/ml it was found to be cytotoxic. Thus, 1000 μg/ml dose of SB was chosen for the subsequent experiments. SB significantly suppresses the proliferation of Con A and LPS stimulated splenocytes at 72 h, while allogenic response of T cells was significantly decreased after 96 h. SB did not affect the relative expression of CD3e or CD4 molecules following 72 h exposure, however, it downregulated the relative expression of CD8 co-receptor. Further, exposure of splenocytes to SB for 72 h led to reduced expression of CD28 and CD95, which play a vital role in T cell activation. SB also suppresses the relative expression of CD19, CD40 and CD95 receptors on B cells after 72 h. In addition to the functional responses, SB lowered the expression of IL4, IL6, IFNγ and IL17 cytokines in Con A stimulated splenocytes; and IL6, IFNγ and TNFα in LPS stimulated splenocytes following 48 h of exposure. Taken together, the present study is suggestive of the immunomodulatory potential of SB.
authors.affiliation: Food Toxicology Lab, Food, Drug and Chemical Toxicology Group, CSIR- Indian Institute of Toxicology Research (CSIR-IITR), M.G. Marg, Lucknow, 226001, Uttar Pradesh, India; Molecular Immunology Lab, School of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221005, Uttar Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Ashish
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yadav
authors.affiliation: Molecular Immunology Lab, School of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221005, Uttar Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Arvind
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Food Toxicology Lab, Food, Drug and Chemical Toxicology Group, CSIR- Indian Institute of Toxicology Research (CSIR-IITR), M.G. Marg, Lucknow, 226001, Uttar Pradesh, India. Electronic address: mditrc@rediffmail.com.
authors.forename: Mukul
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Das
authors.affiliation: Food Toxicology Lab, Food, Drug and Chemical Toxicology Group, CSIR- Indian Institute of Toxicology Research (CSIR-IITR), M.G. Marg, Lucknow, 226001, Uttar Pradesh, India. Electronic address: anurag1706@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Anurag
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tripathi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000187:drug effects; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D016207:Cytokines / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005520:Food Preservatives; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects*; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D011247:Pregnancy; D020160:Sodium Benzoate / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology*
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D005520:Food Preservatives; D020160:Sodium Benzoate
keywords: Activation markers; Cytokines; Immunotoxicity; Lymphoproliferation; Sodium benzoate; Splenocytes