Sri Lanka is known as a hotspot of bio diversity. Many plant species with immune regulatory and anti cancer properties have been identified and extensively used in Ayurveda. Thus, the present study was undertaken to elucidate the toxic effects, anti-oxidant capacity, immunomodulatory and anti-cancer properties of ethanolic extracts of Alpinia calcarata and Solanum surattense in rats and human cell lines. No significant behavioral or morphological changes were observed in rats after treating with high doses of A.calcarata and S.surattense. In these rats, liver enzymes namely Alanine Transaminase (ALT) and Gamma Glutamyl Transpeptidase (GGT) levels were measured using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). No significant increase of ALT and GGT were observed in rats treated with low doses of A.calcarata and S. surattense (p> 0.05). However, high doses of A.calcarata and S.surattense treatment slightly elevated the ALT and GGT levels in experiential rats (p< 0.05). Anti-oxidant capacity of crude extracts of A.calcarata and S.surattense were tested using DPPH method, TAC assay and Cayman assay to determine the antioxidant potential. Results indicated that extracts from both plants possess significantly high anti-oxidant capacity when compared with commonly known anti oxidants (p< 0.05). In previous studies A.calcarata has shown more potent immunomodulatory properties than S.surattense. Hence, A.calcarata was further investigated to study its effects on IL2, IL5, IL17 and IFN-ɣ expression. In this study rats were orally fed with A. calcarata extract for a period of 45 days at the dose of 200mg/kg in two days intervals while the control group was given normal saline. IL2, IL5, IL17, IFN-ɣ cytokine secretions were significantly increased after 30 and 45 days of administration (p< 0.05). Cultured human leukocytes were treated with different concentrations of A.calcarata for 2 days. A dose dependent, profound increase in TH1 cytokine (IFN-γ) level in cell culture supernatant was observed. Results indicated A.calcarata has strong immunomodulatory potential. Wistar Albino Rats were orally fed with A.calcarata and S.surattense extracts for three weeks. Control group received only water. On the 21st day, two hours after the treatment a single dose of Cyclophosphamide was orally given at a dose of 50 mg/kg to all rats. The right armpit of immunosuppressed rats was subcutaneously inoculated with HeLa single-cell suspension. After two weeks tumors were surgically removed and long and short diameters of tumors were measured. Tumor mass and volume were significantly smaller in rats treated with A.calcarata when compared with S.surattense treated rats and control group rats indicating its potential to be used in cancer treatments. Overall findings of this study indicate that A.calcarata rhizome extracts might be potent candidates that can be used in clinical studies.
Key words: A.calcarata, Anti-cancer, Anti-oxidant, Cytokines, Immunomodulation,
S.surattense
