Natural immunity boosters: Clinical trial reports

Background 

The body’s immune system protects a living organism and is a constant alert to defend the body from invading pathogens and maintaining the well-functioning of the body and balance the homeostasis in humans. The COVID-19 pandemic has made the whole world conscious about boosting their immunity. With this concern, natural plant, herbs and their extracts are becoming more noticed by the whole scientific community. A balanced diet with the proper amount of vitamins and minerals like A, B, C, D and E, minerals like calcium, magnesium, zinc, selenium, iron, iodine help in maintaining a well-functioning immune system. 1 A balanced health drink provides the maximum of these daily requirements, hence are becoming popular among all. Some clinical studies related to immunity-boosting are discussed below.

Study design ¹

The study was designed to determine the immune-booster activity of Mulmina® against LPS induced TNF-α, IL-1β and MIP-1α in primary dendritic cells. 

Standard procedure was used to obtain Primary dendritic cells from C57 mice.

The non-toxic concentrations of the test substance was chosen, after studying the efficacy on primary dendritic cells, after evaluating the cytotoxicity using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)- 2,5-diphenyltetrazolium  bromide (MTT). 

Method ¹:

Toxicity was induced in primary dendritic cells using LPS and then treated with Mulmina® for 4 hours and the immune markers such as TNF-α, IL-1β and MIP-1 bound to the cell supernatant were estimated. Also, the phagocytic potential of the test substances was studied using a 96-well phagocytosis assay kit on macrophages cells that were treated with Mulmina® at non-cytotoxic concentrations.

Results ¹

• It was observed that Mulmina® showed inhibition of LPS-induced TNF-α by 57.07±3.4%, inhibition  of LPS-induced IL-1β generation by 59.96±1.0% and also inhibited the MIP-1-α generation by 52.45±2.3 at test doses 800 μg/mL,
• Mulmina® exhibited increased phagocytic potential of RAW macrophages by 65.80±2.8% at 800 μg/mL over control.

Discussion 

Phagocytes, which include macrophages, neutrophils and dendritic cells, play a key role in developing innate immunity which helps in protecting the body against infection. Pro-inflammatory cytokines such as TNFα, IL1β, IL6, IL8 and IL12 are secreted by the macrophages and help in forming other immune cells.²

IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α and chemokines are the few pro-inflammatory cytokines that are upregulated including MIP-1α, MCP-1 and GRO/KC and are involved in the process of pathological pain. It was observed that COVID-19 infection cause an elevation in the IL-2, IL-7, G-CSF, CXCL10, MCP-1, MIP-1α, TNF-α, and IL-6 levels, resulting in hyper inflammation leading to lung damage. So it was important to study these parameters and estimate their efficacy.2. The present study concluded that Mulmina® health drink showed inhibition of LPS-induced TNF-α, inhibition of LPS-induced IL-1β generation and also inhibition of LPS-induced MIP-1-α generation thus proving the effectiveness in protecting the dendrocytes. ^3,4

Previous research and studies conclude that Phagocytosis generates phagolysosome and a harsh environment for most of the microorganisms’. Moreover, phagocytes such as macrophages produce reactive nitrogen species (RNS) which cause microbial destruction and destroys pathogens and limits the spread of infection ⁵. The study showed the increased phagocytic potential of macrophages as compared to control in a dose-dependent manner which concludes that Mulmina® is effective in destroying pathogens, limits the spread of infection and proves the immunomodulatory effect of  Mulmina®.

Conclusion

The above studies reveal that Mulmina® has a significant immune-boosting effect; additionally, it shows antioxidant, anti-inflammatory properties which provide better immunity and meets the daily requirements of essentials vitamins and minerals required by the body for maintaining a strong Immunity and help to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic situation.

References:

1. Mulmina, Scientific updates,Update-1, 1-64. 
2. Fu YL, Harrison RE. Microbial Phagocytic Receptors and Their Potential Involvement in Cytokine Induction in Macrophages. Frontiers in Immunology. 2021;12(1291).
3. Forcados GE, Muhammad A, Oladipo OO, Makama S, Meseko CA. Metabolic Implications of Oxidative Stress and Inflammatory Process in SARS-CoV-2 Pathogenesis: Therapeutic Potential of Natural Antioxidants. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology. 2021;11(457).
4. Jun-Ming Zhang aJA. Cytokines, Inflammation and Pain, Int Anesthesiol Clin 2007;45(2): :27–37.
5. Uribe-Querol E, Rosales C. Control of Phagocytosis by Microbial Pathogens. Frontiers in Immunology. 2017;8(1368).