Immunomodulatory effects of Glycyrrhiza uralensis polysaccharide in glycinin-induced allergic mouse model

ABSTRACTThis study aimed to investigate the therapeutic effects of Glycyrrhiza uralensis polysaccharide (GUP) on glycinin-induced allergic reactions in mouse model. Female BALB/c mice were pretreated for seven consecutive days with various concentrations of GUP aqueous solution or blank control. The mice were then orally administered with glycinin (10 mg/ml) three times and observed a week later. The survival rate and other indicators of the mice were measured, while IL-4, IL-13, plasma histamine and the lgE and IgG content in the serum were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The percentage of CD4+CD25+FoxP3+T cells was detected by flow cytometry. The results showed that IL-4, IL-13 and plasma histamine levels significantly decreased in the blood of mice treated with low GUP concentrations (20 mg/ml), while the specific glycinin-IgE, glycinin-IgG inhibition ratio and CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ T cells/CD4+ T cells ratio increased. However, the lowest, middle, high and the highest concentrations of GUP di...