In Vitro Effects of Some Botanicals with Anti-Inflammatory and Antitoxic Activity

• Main Authors: Gianandrea Guidetti, Alessandro Di Cerbo, Angela Giovazzino, Valentina Rubino, Anna Teresa Palatucci, Sara Centenaro, Elena Fraccaroli, Laura Cortese, Maria Grazia Bonomo, Giuseppina Ruggiero, Sergio Canello, Giuseppe Terrazzano
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hindawi Limited 2016-01-01
• Series: Journal of Immunology Research
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/5457010

Several extrinsic factors, like drugs and chemicals, can foster autoimmunity. Tetracyclines, in particular oxytetracycline (OTC), appear to correlate with the emergence of immune-mediated diseases. Accumulation of OTC, the elective drug for gastrointestinal and respiratory infectious disease treatment in broiler chickens, was reported in chicken edible tissues and could represent a potential risk for pets and humans that could assume this antibiotic as residue in meat or in meat-derived byproducts. We investigated the in vitro anti-inflammatory properties of a pool of thirteen botanicals as a part of a nutraceutical diet, with proven immunomodulatory activity. In addition, we evaluated the effect of such botanicals in contrasting the in vitro proinflammatory toxicity of OTC. Our results showed a significant reduction in interferon- (INF-) γ production by human and canine lymphocytes in presence of botanicals (p⁎<0.05). Increased INF-γ production, dependent on 24-hour OTC-incubation of T lymphocytes, was significantly reduced by the coincubation with Haematococcus pluvialis, with Glycine max, and with the mix of all botanicals (p⁎<0.05). In conclusion, the use of these botanicals was shown to be able to contrast OTC-toxicity and could represent a new approach for the development of functional foods useful to enhance the standard pharmacological treatment in infections as well as in preventing or reducing the emergence of inflammatory diseases.