From the clinical researcher’s desk

Introduction

COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated the need for the significant research, across the globe, to find its curative and preventive strategies.

Boosting immunity to fight infection has drawn tremendous attention of the researchers and several research articles have highlighted the importance of various herbs and micronutrients in enhancing the human immune system. 

Mulmina® Mango, a health drink, rich in antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and mesonutrients such as extracts from mango, Centella asiatica and turmeric, has been studied for its immune-boosting capability in this regard.

Objective

The study determined the immune-boosting activity of Mulmina® Mango against lipopolysaccharides (LPS) induced tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and macrophage inflammatory protein-1 alpha (MIP-1α) in primary dendritic cells.

Methodology

• The test substance was evaluated for cytotoxicity using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT), and then the non-toxic concentrations were selected for efficacy studies on primary dendritic cells (isolated from C57 mouse by standard procedure).
• Primary dendritic cells were intoxicated with LPS followed by treatment with Mulmina® Mango for 4 hours, after which the cell supernatant bound immune markers such as TNF-α, IL-1β and MIP-1 were estimated.
• Phagocytosis potential of test substances was determined in the study using a 96-well phagocytosis assay kit on macrophages cells that were treated with Mulmina® Mango at non-cytotoxic concentrations.

The findings from the study showed that Mulmina® Mango-

• Exhibited moderate toxicity with cytotoxicity concentration (CTC50) value >1000 μg/mL on dendritic cells. The non-toxic concentrations 800 μg/mL and 400 μg/mL were utilized for further efficacy studies.

Inhibited LPS-induced TNF-α by 54.46±1.3% at test doses 800 μg/mL and by 43.64±0.8% at 400 μg/mL over control.

• Inhibited LPS-induced IL-1β generation by 55.60±0.5% at test doses 800 μg/mL and by 48.39±1.4% 400 μg/mL over control.
• Inhibited MIP-1-α generation by 44.04±3.3 and 31.19±1.7% at 800 and 400 μg/mL, respectively.They elevated the phagocytic potential of RAW macrophages by 54.65±3.1% over control at 800 μg/mL.

Conclusion-

It was thus concluded that-

• Pro-inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α and IL-1β plays a role in the pathogenesis of bacterial and viral infections and exhibit immune responses towards infection and inflammation. Further, TNF-α has a prime role in systemic inflammation and acute-phase reaction. Mulmina® Mango has an anti-inflammatory effect as it inhibited the LPS-induced inflammatory markers TNF-α, IL-1β and MIP-1 in primary dendritic cells.
• As phagocytosis is the first step of defence against infection, activation of phagocytes leads to enhancement of innate immune response. Mulmina® Mango can elevate the phagocytic potential of macrophages thus explaining its immunomodulatory ability.
• This study validates the immune-boosting and anti-inflammatory properties of Mulmina® Mango which has been formulated by incorporating Mango and C. asiatica.