Abstract:
To investigate the immunomodulatory effects of blueberry anthocyanins on lymphocytes and peritoneal macrophages. The aseptically isolate lymphocytes and peritoneal macrophages were used for preparation of the lymphocytes and peritoneal macrophages suspension.Blueberry anthocyanins at 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64 mg/mL were used to culture lymphocytes (48 h) and peritoneal macrophages (24 h)
in vitro. The effects of blueberry anthocyanins on the proliferation of lymphocytes and the phagocytosis of macrophages by neutral red-phagocytosis were detected by MTT method. The effects of anthocyanins on the secretion of IL-6 (interleukin-6) and TNF-
α (TNF-
α) and peritoneal macrophages IL-4 (interleukin-4), IL-12 (interleukin-12) were detected by ELISA method. The results showed that the proliferation rate of lymphocytes, the phagocytic activity of peritoneal macrophages, the secretion of IL-6 and TNF-
α in lymphocytes and the secretion of IL-12 in the peritoneal macrophages were significantly increased compared with that in the blank group (
p<0.05) but the secretion of IL-4 in peritoneal macrophages of each concentration group and positive group was lower than that of the blank control group (
p<0.05). The blueberry anthocyanins may enhance the immune function of human body by promoting the proliferation of lymphocytes and increasing the phagocytic and secretory functions of peritoneal macrophages.