alteration of macrophage function in mice treated with hydroalcoholic extract of sumac

Sumac (rhus coriaria) is one of the well-known food spices with medicinal properties (1). sumac has a wide range of active pharmacological compounds with strong antioxidant activity, including anthocyanins, tannins and flavonoids (2). this survey was set out to evaluate the effects of the hydroalcoholic extract of sumac on the peritoneal macrophage of mice that received it. male nmri mice were randomly divided into the following three groups (n=5): phosphate-buffered saline (pbs)-treated mice, hydroalcoholic extract of sumac -treated mice (40 mg/kg, p.o., 30 consecutive days). at the end of this step, the resident macrophages in the peritoneal cavity of mice were isolated by injecting ice-cold pbs. the macrophages were incubated with 0.1% nbt and 100 ng/ml tetradecanoylphorbol acetate for 20 min to assess the potential for respiratory burst evaluation. the cells were primed with lps (10 pg/ml) for 24 hr to monitor the potential of nitric oxide production. the collected supernatant was also used to evaluate the levels of cytokines il-10 and il-12 via elisa. the cells were also pulsed with neutral red-stained, heat-stabilized, zymosan suspension at a 1:10 ratio for 30 min to assess the phagocytic ability of macrophages. as a result, the administration of hydroalcoholic extract of sumac decreased macrophages respiratory burst, nitric oxide, and il-12 production and increased their il-10 production. macrophages isolated from rats that received an extract of sumac had lower phagocytic potential than those isolated from untreated mice. finally, it seemed that the use of sumac hydroalcoholic extract inhibited the inflammatory functions of macrophages.