Immunomodulatory studies on selected plants from the Hallwyl "Kräuterbuch" – an influential recipe text from 16th century Switzerland

An ex vivo screening effort using plants from the “Arzneibuch von Hallwyl” (ABvH), an influential recipe text from 16th-century Switzerland, was carried out with the goal of exploring the immunomodulatory potential of medicinal plants that have largely fallen out of use in modern practice.

An ex vivo screening model using a human whole blood assay (WBA) stimulated with LPS was chosen to measure perturbation of IL-6 release in 21 preparations, 5 of which were directly based on recipes from the ABvH. Candidates with promising activity were then to be tested in LPS-activated human PBMC for comparison with the results of the WBA. MTT assay was chosen to characterise the cytotoxic profile of active extracts.

Eight of the 21 tested samples showed heterogenous effects on IL-6 release in the WBA. In the PBMC assay the 80% EtOH extract from the roots of Vincetoxicum hirundinaria Medik. (VHR) showed the strongest ex vivo inhibition with an IC₅₀ of 3.62±0.47 μg/mL. Results of the MTT assay in NIH-3T3 fibroblasts suggest a minor cytotoxic potential of most samples.

The data gathered during this study points to promising ex vivo immunomodulatory activity exhibited by the active samples and rationalises further screening efforts based on plants from the ABvH.

Publication History

Article published online:
16 November 2023