The Effect of Pistacia khynjuk on Humoral Immune System of Wistar Rats

Introduction & Plants from the genus Pistacia family such as Pistacia atlantica, Pistacia vera and Pistacia khynjuk are considered as herbal medicines. Antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects of these plants have been confirmed. The aim of the current study was to find the effect of Pistacia khynjuk on humoral immune system of Wistar rats. This is an experimental study which was conducted at Yasuj University of Medical Sciences in 2009. Forty male Wistar rats were randomly allocated into four groups of ten animals and orally received 10 mg/kg of the extract of nucleus, cutin and fruit of Pistacia khynjuk respectively, every day for two weeks. The control group received only placebo. Immuno-reactivity was induced using BCG vaccine (IP) with Freund‘s complete adjuvant (CFA). The titer of IgG and IgM were measured after the treatment using ELISA method. Moreover, the cervical lymph nodes and spleen of animals were excised and the volume and density of the primary and secondary follicle was evaluated by steriology. The collected data were analyzed by the SPSS using one-way ANOVA. The differences in the mean level of IgG and IgM between the treated and the control animals were not significant (p>.05). Also, the mean volume of the spleen and cervical lymph nodes of the first three groups in comparison with the control animals were not significant (p>.05). Findings of this study showed that the Pistacia khynjuk did not have any direct effect on the activity of humoral immune system and the increasing of antibody level among Wistar rats.