Abstract

Voacanga globosa is an endemic plant traditionally used as remedy for boils in the Philippines. Four concentrations of the ethanolic leaf extracts (0.5, 5, 50 and 100 mg/kg bw) were administered intraperitoneally to 6 to 8 weeks old female imprinting control region (ICR) mice. Mice treated with 5 mg/kg bw V. globosa extract significantly potentiated the inflammatory response, exhibiting the highest edema index and enhanced leukocyte infiltration and hypertrophy. Inflammatory response was reduced at higher concentrations, suggesting that V. globosa might be immunosuppressive at high concentrations. These indicate that the ethanolic leaf extract of V. globosa exhibit biphasic inflammatory effects since it appears immunostimulatory at low concentration and immunosuppressive at high concentrations.

Key words: Voacanga globosa, delayed-type hypersensitivity test, biphasic response, immunomodulation, histopathology, ICR mice.