Immunomodulatory Properties of Tualang Honey in BALB/c Mice

Local natural products have been gaining great focus from research and therapeutic aspects. The outcome of studies on one of nation's renowned Tualang honey (TH) (honey bee collected from Koompassia excels tree) has profoundly anchored its broad aptitude in anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and anti-microbial properties. This study was aimed to investigate the immunomodulatory properties of TH in BALB/c mice. TH was orally administered daily for 14 days to male BALB/c mice (5/group) in dose ranging from 0.5 g/kg, 1.5 g/kg and 3.0 g/kg per group. Pre-treatment and post-treatment body weights were measured. Upon sacrificing, the spleen was weighed and then homogenized. The splenocytes were stained with various surface markers antibodies namely CD3(+)/CD4(+) (T helper), CD3(+)/CD8(+) (T cytotoxic), CD14(+) (macrophage) and CD19(+) (B lymphocyte) and immune cell populations were obtained by using flow cytometer. On the other hand, proliferation assay of splenocytes were done by using CellTiter 96 (R) AQueous One Solution Cell Proliferation Assay (MTS). Body weight of mice showed increment after the treatment but body weight of mice treated with 0.5 g/kg decreased upon completion of TH treatment. BALB/c mice treated with TH showed increased populations of CD3(+)/CD4(+), CD3(+)/CD8(+), CD14(+) and CD19(+) compared to the control group. Proliferation analysis of splenocytes and spleen weight obtained from TH-treated mice also showed increment. The results revealed the immunostimulant potential of TH in mice by enhancing lymphocyte populations especially T helper (CD3(+)/CD4(+)), cytotoxic (CD3(+)/CD8(+)) and B (CD19(+)) cells.