Immunostimulating Effects of Extract of Acanthopanax sessiliflorus

As malfunction/absence of immune cells causes a variety of immunosuppressive disordersand chemical synthetic drugs for curing these diseases have many adverse effects, vigorousstudies are being conducted. The Acanthopanax family has been used astraditional medicines for gastric ulcer, diabetes, etc. and culinary materials inEast-South Asia. In this study, the immunostimulating properties of A.sessiliflorus were evaluated. A. sessiliflorus increased notonly the splenocyte number but also immune-related cytokines such as TNF-α. However, itcould not upregulate the expressions of IFN-γ and IL-2. A. sessiliflorusincreased the swimming time, and comparison of organ weights relative to body weights forimmune-related organs such as the spleen and thymus after a forced swim test showed thatit could recover the spleen and thymus weights. It also increased the expression of TNF-αand slightly increased the concentration of IFN-γ but not IL-2. From the results, weconcluded that as A. sessiliflorus has not only a host defense effect butalso a stress-ameliorating property, further study it will be a promising material ofimmunostimulating material.