Immunomodulatory activity of an Indonesian herbal formulation for respiratory disorder

Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the activity of an Indonesian herbal formulation, which is specific for respiratory disorders and contains a combination of Curcuma xanthorrhiza rhizome, Vitex trifolia leaves, Zingiber officinale rhizome, Citrus fruit, and Echinacea purpurea herb, as an immunomodulator in mice. Materials and Methods: Thirty male Balb/c mice were divided into five groups as follows: negative control, E. purpurea for reference, and three doses of herbal formula. The samples were administered daily for 14 days, and immune response was induced by hepatitis B vaccine on days 7 and 14. On day 18, blood was collected via the retro-orbital plexus. Macrophage phagocytosis and lymphocyte proliferation assay and measurement of immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody titers were carried out on day 20. Results: The herbal formula can significantly increase the phagocytic index compared with the negative control. Interestingly, the herbal formula showed higher activity compared with E. purpurea-only treatment. This indicates the possible synergistic effects of the herbal components in the formula. This synergistic pattern was also observed in the production of IgG antibody. The herbal formula can significantly increase IgG titer compared with the negative control group (P < 0.05). However, the increase was nonsignificant compared with E. purpurea-only treatment. On the other hand, the herbal formula showed less effect on the induction of lymphocyte proliferation compared with E. purpurea-only treatment. Low-dose treatments showed suppressive effects. Conclusions: The herbal formula showed more immunostimulatory activity on nonspecific responses than specific immune ones. Other herbal components may contribute to the overall immunomodulatory effect of the studied herbal formula.