Improvement of Immune and Hematopoietic Functions by <i>Litsea japonica</i> Fruit Extract in Cyclophosphamide-Treated BALB/c Mice

Abstract

Loss of immunity is an important cause in the pathology of infectious disease. This study investigates the effect of Litsea japonica fruit extract (LJFE) as a potential functional food on immunity and hematopoietic function in immunosuppressed BALB/c mice. Immunity-stimulating activity was observed in mice supplemented with LJFE at low (25 mg/kg), medium (50 mg/kg), and high (100 mg/kg) dosage for seven days after administration of cyclophosphamide. LJFE treatment significantly improved spleen injury score (p p + and CD8+ T-cells were notably increased by approximately two-fold (p p p L. japonica as a functional food ingredient to improve immunity and hematological function in humans.

Keywords

• <i>Litsea japonica</i>
• immunity
• hematopoietic function
• cytokines
• mice