Search

Honey is currently the focus of many research projects due to its varied biological activities including antiinflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, antihypertensive and hypoglycemic effects. In the current study antitumor effect of coriander honey was investigated in mature mice bearing Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC) with special reference to immune status. Coriander honey (500 mg/kg) caused decrease in tumor volume, packed cell volume and viable cell count, and caused increase in non-viable cell count and mean survival time thereby increasing life span of EAC bearing mice. The study of the effect of honey on immunological status in mice bearing Ehrlich carcinoma showed that the levels of immunoglobulin M, G and A were increased following the administration of coriander honey. It was also clear that coriander honey increased the phagocytic activity in mice bearing Ehrlich carcinoma. There was reduction in the stimulation indices of lymphocyte transformation of mice bearing Ehrlich carcinoma. Delayed hypersensitivity skin test revealed that the Ehrlich carcinoma reduced the reaction after 72 hours post inoculation with bovine serum albumin. The administration of honey caused the rise in skin thickness as shown in Ehrlich carcinoma and subsequently treated with coriander honey with a rise of 0.61 mm as compared with 0.52 mm in EAC control group. The skin thickness in coriander honey group was the highest among all groups with 0.90 mm thickness. Based on these results, it can be concluded that coriander honey exhibited antitumor effect by modulating cell mediated immune response and immunoglobulin levels, in EAC bearing mice.

Fasciolosis due to Fasciola gigantica or F. hepatica causes significant production losses in animals, as well as being a zoonotic disease of global importance. In an attempt to develop vaccine against fasciolosis in rabbits, an immunoaffinity fraction of F. gigantica excretory secretory products was isolated. The fraction possesses 87.67% of the initial antigenic activities with 2051.5 fold increase in specific activity compared to crude extract. It consists of two bands of molecular weight 27 kDa and 23.5 kDa as revealed by SDS-PAGE. The detailed structural analyses of the pure fraction showed O-glycan [Ser-Arg-Ser-Arg-Ser-GlucNAc] using mass spectrometry. Vaccination of rabbits twice with the fraction resulted in 85% reduction in worm burden. It is also resulted in high antibody IgG levels as proved by ELISA. The highest IgG response was observed in vaccinated rabbits at two weeks post infection and remained stable to the end of the experiment. A significant expression of IL-4 and INF-γ was observed in vaccinated rabbits starting one week until thirteen weeks post infection. The level of IL-4 was significantly higher than the level of INF- γ throughout the experiment as measured by ELISA. Collectively, the current results suggest promising immunoprophylactic potentials of the immunoaffinity fraction of Fasciola gigantica excretory secretory products against fasciolosis in rabbits through induction of both cellular and humoral responses.