Radioprotective and immunomodulatory effects of Mesua ferrea (Linn.) from Western Ghats of India., in irradiated Swiss albino mice and splenic lymphocytes

The present study reports the efficacy of Mesua ferrea (Linn.) extract in mitigating radiation induced toxicity along with immunomodulatory property. Swiss albino mice, splenic lymphocytes and plasmid pBR322 DNA were used to evaluate the radioprotective effect by exposing them to 6Gy EBR or 4 Gy gamma radiation. In this study, Mesua ferrea methanolic (MfM) or aqueous extracts (MfA) significantly protected pBR322 DNA against radiation induced strand breaks. Both the extracts significantly offered protection against radiation-induced apoptosis as indicated by propidium iodide staining and DNA ladder assay. MfM or MfA significantly scavenged radiation derived free radicals indicating their antioxidant potential. MfM or MfA were orally administered to Swiss albino mice at 250 or200 mg/kg body weight respectively for 7 days. The study showed significant increase in the levels of glutathione, and activities of endogenous antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase & catalase. Administration of MfA or MfM to mice significantly reduced electron beam radiation (EBR; 6Gy) induced increase in MDA levels. Immunomodulatory efficacy of MfM and MfA was evaluated using concanavalin-A (Con-A) induced proliferation of CFSE labelled splenic lymphocytes. Both the extracts significantly reduced proliferation in a dose-dependent manner. Further, MfM or MfA treatment prevented EBR induced histopathological changes in jejunum, spleen, liver and kidney. This demonstrates that the plant Mesua ferrea has promising antioxidant, radioprotective and immunomodulatory activity which may be attributed to the active constituents present in it.