Here we investigated the potential immune-enhancing activity of Isodon japonicus on murine splenocyte and natural-killer (NK) cells in vitro. The ethanol extract of I. japonicus significantly enhanced the proliferation of splenocyte and induced the significant enhancement of NK cells' activity against tumor cells (YAC-1). In addition, I. japonicus increased the production of interferon (IFN)-γ and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, suggesting that the increase in NK cell cytotoxicity could be due to the enhancement of the NK cell production of both cytokines. Taken together, I. japonicus extract inhibited the growth of human leukemia cells (K562) by 74%. Our observation indicated that the anti-tumor effects of I. japonicus may be attributed to its ability to serve as a stimulant of NK anti-tumor activity. In addition, our results support the development of functional food studies on I. japonicus.
Keywords: Isodon japonicus; cytokine; natural killer cell; splenocyte.