Immunostimulatory effects of extract of Pulicaria crispa before and after Schistosoma mansoni infection

The immunostimulatory effects of methanolic extract from Pulicaria crispa were investigated in mice before and after infection with Schistosoma mansoni. Mice were subjected for daily intra-peritoneal injection by the extract (33 ng/mouse) for 10 successive days followed by infecting every mouse with 100 S. mansoni cercariae. Treatment with the extract induced significant increase (p < 0.05) in sera-IL-2 before and after infection. Upon using soluble worm antigen preparation or cancer bladder homogenates as antigens in ELISA, the detected levels of IgG were significantly (p < 0.05) higher in sera from treated-infected mice than untreated P. crispa infected mice. Using crude Escherichia coli lysate as an antigen in ELISA, it was detected a significant (p < 0.05) increase in IgG levels in sera from the extract-treated mice before and after infection.