Immunomodulatory Activity of Caesalpinia sappan L. Extracts on Peritoneal Macrophage of Albino Mice

Caesalpinia sappan L. (Caesalpiniaceae) is a medicinal plant which is used as a thirst quencher in southern part of India especially in Kerala. The present study was conducted to scientifically evaluate the effects of extracts of Caesalpinia sappan on phagocytic function of macrophages. In vivo effect of aqueous, ethanol and hexane extract of the plant at two doses (10mg/kg body weight and 25mg/kg b. w. ) were evaluated by oral administration of the extracts on Swiss albino male mice. In vitro immunomodulatory potential of the above extracts at different concentrations (10g/ml, 25g/ml, 50 g/ml and 100g/ml) was studied using peritoneal macrophages from Swiss albino mice. All extracts gave phagocytic modulation in vivo. The ethanol extract of Caesalpinia sappan at a dose of 25mg/kg b. w. showed significant (pless than0.05) increase in phagocytic activity in comparison with the control. An increased phagocytic response was shown by murine peritoneal macrophages after treatment with the extracts in vitro. A dose dependent response was observed in all cases. The results of the present study indicates the immunomodulatory effect of Caesalpinia sappan extracts on murine peritoneal macrophages, as evidenced by its effect on phagocytosis which is a nonspecific immune mechanism.