Crude extract from taro (Colocasia esculenta) as a natural source of bioactive proteins able to stimulate haematopoietic cells in two murine models

Besides its nutritional value, taro (Colocasia esculenta) is traditionally used as a medicinal plant and provides bioactive compounds with important biological properties. This study evaluated the in vitro and in vivo immunomodulatory potential of the protein extract from taro corms on the haematopoietic cells of C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice. The crude taro extract (CTE) stimulated the in vitro proliferation of mice splenocytes in a dose-dependent manner in both mice strains. The intraperitoneal inoculation of CTE induced splenomegaly and the proliferation of total spleen and bone-marrow cells. Additionally, CTE promoted in vivo B220+ splenocyte proliferation, which was accompanied by a reduction of mature (B220+ IgM+) and immature (B220+ IgM−) B cells in the bone marrow. The production of Antibody by B220+ splenocytes indicated the activation of B1 cells by the CTE only in C57BL/6. CTE represents a powerful source of immunostimulatory proteins, new candidates as additives for food and pharmaceutical industries.