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Title: In vitro Treatment Effect of the Methanol Extracts of Korean Medicinal Fruits (Persimmon, Raspberry, Tomato) on Chicken Lymphocytes, Macrophages and Tumor Cells

Author
item LEE, SUNG
item Lillehoj, Hyun
item LILLEHOJ, ERIK - UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
item CHUN, HYE-KYUNG - NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
item PARK, HONG-JU - NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
item CHO, SOO-MUK - NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Submitted to: Poultry Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/15/2009
Publication Date: 9/15/2009
Citation: Lee, S.H., Lillehoj, H.S., Lillehoj, E.P., Chun, H., Park, H., Cho, S. 2009. In vitro Treatment Effect of the Methanol Extracts of Korean Medicinal Fruits (Persimmon, Raspberry, Tomato) on Chicken Lymphocytes, Macrophages and Tumor Cells. Poultry Science 46:149-154.

Interpretive Summary: Development of safe and effective alternative methods is becoming a priority for poultry industry due to increasing concerns about increasing drug-resistance of poultry pathogens. Although drugs have been traditionally used to control many diseases of poultry, the results of recent ARS study indicate a potential non-drug application of dietary strategy against the intestinal protozoan parasites. In this report, ARS scientists in collaboration with scientists at RDA in South Korea demonstrate dietary immunomodulation strategies to enhance gut innate immunity in poultry. Increasing evidence show that the dietary enhancements of innate immunity in humans and animals using naturally occurring dietary substances is playing a role in clinical medicine. This study used in vitro cell culture system to demonstrate the potential immunoenhancing properties of fruit extracts derived from persimmons, raspberries, and tomatoes on various parameters of chickens’ innate immunity and tumor cell growth. These results, for the first time, provide clear evidence that traditional Korean medicinal fruits such as persimmons, raspberries, and tomatoes possess immunostimulating components which could be used to enhance animal health. This finding provides a rationale for further studies on these fruits in both human and other animal models as potential oral immunotherapheutics.

Technical Abstract: A variety of fruits have traditionally been used in Asian cultures to enhance innate immunity and treat cancers. However, limited information exists on the underlying mechanisms responsible for these immune enhancing properties. The present investigation was conducted to examine the effects of methanol extracts of three Korean indigenous fruits (the persimmon, the raspberry, and the tomato) on various in vitro parameters of immune activation (lymphocyte proliferation, nitric oxide production by macrophages) and tumor cells. The chicken model was used in this study since its innate immune system has been well characterized. Co-culture of persimmon (Diospyros kaki) as well as tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) extracts with chicken spleen lymphocytes in vitro induced a significant proliferation of lymphocytes. Stimulation of chicken macrophages with extracts of raspberries (Rubus crataegifolius), but not persimmons and tomatoes, resulted in significantly high nitric oxide production at a level similar to that induced by interferon '. More importantly, all fruit extracts tested in this study significantly inhibited chicken tumor cell growth, which was compared with vehicle control (p < 0.05). These results, for the first time, showed clear evidence that traditional Korean medicinal fruits such as persimmons, raspberries, and tomatoes possess immunostimulating components which not only stimulate innate immunity, but also inhibit tumor cell growth in chickens. This finding provides a rationale for further studies on these fruits in both human and other animal models.