Immunomodulatory activity of methanolic extract of Amorphophallus commutatus var. wayanadensis under normal and cyclophosphamide induced immunosuppressive conditions in mice models

•MEAC exhibited mitogenic and co-mitogenic activity in stimulated splenocytes.•MEAC significantly enhanced the activation of humoral immune responses.•MEAC displayed suppressive effect on cell mediated immune responses.•MEAC showed significant chemoprotection against CP induced immunosuppression.•GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of fatty acids and phytosterols. The present study investigates the immunomodulatory activity of methanolic extract of Amorphophallus commutatus var. wayanadensis (MEAC) under normal and cyclophosphamide induced immunosuppressive conditions in Swiss albino mice models. The splenocyte proliferation assay was performed to study in-vitro immunomodulatory activity of MEAC, where sheep RBC (SRBC) was used to induce immune responses in the experimental animals. The in-vivo immunomodulatory activity was evaluated by humoral antibody titer, quantification of plaque forming cells, qualitative hemolysis, delayed type hypersensitivity assay, phagocytic index and neutrophil adhesion assays. The chemoprotective effect of MEAC was determined against cyclophosphamide induced immunosuppression in mice models. MEAC exhibited significant mitogenic and co-mitogenic activity on Con-A, PHA and LPS stimulated splenocytes isolated from mouse spleen in a dose dependent manner. Furthermore, MEAC also elicited significant immunomodulatory activity with enhanced activation of humoral immune response along with a suppressive effect on cell mediated immune response. Hematological and histopathological analysis revealed the protective effect of MEAC against CP induced immunosuppression. The significant immunomodulatory activity of MEAC observed in the current study could be due to the fatty acids and phytosterols present in the extract.