Antistressor effect of Costus speciosus on noise induced immunological changes in rats

Costus speciosus is being widely used in Indian folk medicine for treating various disorders. Environmental noise pollution is supposed to be an important factor for many health problems and it causes immune abnormalities. In the present study immune-regulating potential of Costus speciosus extract was evaluated during acute and subacute noise stress conditions. Adult Wistar albino rats were exposed to acute noise stress and subacute noise stress and then the effect of ethanolic Costus speciosus rhizome extract on immunological parameters such as phagocytic index, avidity index, neutrophil adherence test and total leucocyte count were studied. Neutrophil adherence and total leukocyte counts were found decreased and the percentage of avidity and phagocytic index were significantly increased in the stressed group of rats. The result of statistical analysis showed that, the pre-treatment with Costus speciosus extract significantly altered favourably the levels of immunological parameters. Ethanolic extract of Costus speciosus rhizome have the potential to prevent noise stress induced changes in rodent immune system and has a strong immunomodulatory prospective applicable to clinical practices.

Abstracts for the British Congenital Cardiac Association Annual Meeting: The Barbican, London, 24–25 November 2005: Winner of the Young Investigator's Prize: Omega-3 fatty acids – pharmacological preconditioning for paediatric cardiac surgical patients

Background: Inappropriate systemic inflammatory endothelial and leucocyte activation is a major pathogenic component of post-operative low cardiac output syndrome (LCOS) and associated pulmonary oedema, low urine output, and generalised oedema, in paediatric cardiac surgery. We hypothesised that acute pre-treatment with a parenteral nutrition component omega-3 fatty acid infusion in-vitro, would prevent the pattern of leucocyte and endothelial activation seen in paediatric cardiac surgery through induction of preconditioning. Methods: Endothelial cells were isolated from saphenous vein of 75 adult cardiac surgery patients, grown in monolayers, pre-treated, and then stimulated with either endotoxin (LPS), TNFalpha, or complement C5a (prime mediators of systemic inflammation with paediatric cardiac surgery). Endothelial production of the neutrophil recruiting cytokines IL-6, IL-8, and endothelial expression of the neutrophil adherence receptors E-Selectin, ICAM-1 were assessed. The effects on the inflammatory pro-coagulant response of the endothelium i.e. loss of surface thrombomodulin and production of tissue factor were also examined. Similar methods were employed using isolated peripheral blood neutrophils. The effects on endothelial nuclear translocation of the acute inflammatory transcription factor NFkB and the heat shock protein (HSP72) response were investigated for mechanistic insight. Results: Four hours pre-treatment with the omega-3 infusion prevented endothelial release of neutrophil recruiting cytokines IL-6 and IL-8, also prevented upregulation of endothelial receptors required for neutrophil adherence E-Selectin and ICAM-1, and maintained surface anticoagulant thrombomodulin levels, in response to stimulation with LPS (Table 1) or TNFalpha.