Open Access

ARTICLE

PADMA-28, A Tibetan herbal preparation is an inhibitor of inflammatory cytokine production

Vivian Barak¹, Inna Kalickman¹, Tal Halperin¹, Shlomo Birkenfeld¹, Isaac Ginsburg²

Immunology Laboratory for Tumor Diagnosis ¹ , Israeli Cytokine Standardization Laboratory1 and Department of Oral Biology, Faculty of Dental Medicine² , Hebrew University - Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel

* Corresponding Author: Vivian Barak,

European Cytokine Network 2004, 15(3), 203-209.

Accepted 05 May 2004;

Abstract

Background: Previous studies have shown that PADMA-28, a multicomponent, traditional Tibetan herbal plant preparation possesses a variety of beneficial effects on several experimental models of inflammatory and immune processes, including autoimmune diabetes and autoimmune encephalomyelitis. In humans, PADMA-28 attenuated the symptoms associated with intermittent claudications in atherosclerotic patients. Objective: To assess the effect of PADMA 28 on the immune system, e.g. cytokine (interleukins) production. Design: Cytokine production by human blood monocytes (derived from12 healthy donors) stimulated in vitro, either by endotoxin (LPS) from Salmonella typhi or by lipoteichoic acid (LTA) from group A Streptococci was modulated by PADMA-28. Results: The present study showed that an aqueous extract of PADMA-28 strongly decreased the production of the inflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α, and more moderately, also decreased the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 induced by LPS. However, the LTA - induced IL-10 production was [not significantly] increased by the low dose PADMA-28, while not effected at all by the higher dose of PADMA-28. Conclusions: The data from these finding suggest a possible clinical efficacy of PADMA-28 either in autoimmune and in inflammatory conditions or in post-inflammatory sequelae, as previously shown in in vivo and human studies, probably by decreasing inflammatory cytokines.

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