Research Article
Smriti Tripathi, Anup Kumar Ma
Abstract
The immunomodulatory activity of an Indian medicinal plant i.e. ethanolic extract from Trigonella foenumgraeceum namely Fenugreek was studied for there phagocytic activity, cell mediated and humoral immune system on mice. Immunomodulatory effect was assessed in carbon clearance test, delayed type of hypersensitivity (DTH), Tcell population test, and sheep erythrocyte agglutination test (SEAT) in animal treated with methi at doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg body weight. In carbon clearance test, Fenugreek exhibited significantly high phagocytic index against control group, indicating stimulation of the reticulo-endothelial system. Significant decrease in mean difference, in the foot paw thickness in DTH indicates its anti-inflammatory activity. In Fenugreek treated groups at 200 and 400 mg/kg doses showed significant increase in antibody titer against control in normal immune status animals while in T-cell population test, showed significant increase in T-cell rosette formation against control. These results confirm the immunomodulatory activity of Fenugreek extract, which is a known immunomodulator in indigenous medicine.