Immunomodulatory activities of vaccinium myrtoides (Blume) miq. fruit : lymphocytic proliferation and reactive oxygen species scavenging activity / Eleanor Cuevas Villaverde

Thesis (Master of Science in Botany) -- University of the Philippines Los Baños, December 2018.

The increasing trend of healthier lifestyles plus the shift to preventive medicine has sparked the consumption of functional foods, such as blueberries, to improve the immune system. This study determined the phenolic, flavonoid, and antioxidant activity, and immunomodulatory properties of a native Philippine blueberry, Vaccinium myrtoides, through phytochemical and immune-based animal assays. Total phenolics (TP), total flavonoid (TF), and antioxidant activity (AOX) of the crude ethanolic blueberry extract (BBE) were tested through Folin-Ciocalteu, aluminum chloride, and DPPH assays, respectively, resulting to high amounts of each. In vitro immune-based assays showed significant activity of BBE on murine lymphocyte proliferation at 5g/mL BBE (p < 0.05) and ROS scavenging at 50 g/mL BBE (p < 0.05). In vivo experimentation of phosphate buffered saline (PBS)-, cyclophosphamide (CP)-, and immunosuppressed BBE (100 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg)- treated male ICR mice agreed with in vitro results of immunomodulation through lymphocyte proliferation (400 mg/kg BBE) and ROS scavenging (100 mg/kg BBE) but were not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Splenic weights increased with BBE treatment. Hepatoprotective nature of BBE ( I 00 mg/kg) against CP-induced toxicity was also noted. The results suggest that WV. myrtoides can possibly effect immunomodulation through lymphocyte proliferation and ROS scavenging.