Anti-cellular and immunomodulatory potential of aqueous extract of Rhodiola imbricata rhizome.

In the present study, we have evaluated the anti-cellular and immunomodulatory potential of aqueous extract of Rhodiola imbricata rhizome (RAE). Rhodiola extract inhibited the proliferation of human T cell lymphoma cell line EL-4 and erythroleukemic cell line HL-60. Furthermore, treatment of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (hPBMCs) with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and RAE suppressed regulated upon activation, normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES) production. However, number of TNF-α spots was increased in RAE treated hPBMCs. The reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis of RAE treated rat splenocytes confirmed the up regulation of TLR-4 mRNA expression. Therefore, the present study concludes that RAE has potent immune boosting activity which might be useful in immunocompromised individuals.