Immunomodulatory and prophylactic efficacy of herbal extracts against experimentally induced chicken infectious anaemia in chicks: assessing the viral load and cell mediated immunity

Abstract

Chicken infectious anaemia virus (CIAV) is an economically important and a highly immunosuppressive virus affecting poultry industry worldwide. In this study we assessed the immunomodulatory effects of four herbal preparations namely Withania somnifera, Tinospora cordifolia, Azadirachta indica and E Care Se Herbal in resisting the viral multiplication and immunosuppression inflicted by CIAV in chicks. Day-old chicks (n = 90) were randomly and equally divided into six groups (Groups A-F). Groups A-D were administered with purified extracts of W. somnifera, T. cordifolia, A. indica and E Care Se Herbal, respectively followed by the evaluation of viral load in lymphoid organs by quantitative real-time PCR and cell mediated immune response by flow cytometric analysis of CD4 ? and CD8 ? T cells. Groups A-D were found to resist CIAV multiplication and pathogenesis with significant reduction of viral load compared with the infected control (P \ 0.05). Group A-C chicks showed significantly higher (P \ 0.05) CD4 ? and CD8 ? T cell counts compared to control birds while of E Care Se Herb had minimal effect on T cell count. The findings suggested that the herbal preparations used during the study were effective as both prophylactic and immunomodulatory agents and thus have potential of being used against CIAV induced immunosuppression in poultry.

Withanone and caffeic acid phenethyl ester are predicted to interact with main protease (Mpro) of SARS-CoV-2 and inhibit its activity

“…Natural resources of Wi-N and CAPE (Ashwagandha and honeybee propolis, respectively) have long history of use in traditional home medicine systems, are generally recognized as safe, easily available and affordable. There are several reports that provide evidence that both CAPE and Ashwagandha derived withanolides (Akyol et al, 2013;Amoros et al, 1994;Anjaly & Tiku, 2018;Cai et al, 2015;Erdemli et al, 2015;Kaul & Wadhwa, 2017;Kwon et al, 2019;Latheef et al, 2017;Lyu et al, 2005;Munagala et al, 2011;Murtaza et al, 2015;Serkedjieva et al, 1992;Zandi et al, 2011) possess antiviral activity. Mechanism of action of antiviral activities has not been completely understood.…”

“…Both are known to boost the immune function, possess a variety of prophylactic and therapeutic activities (Akyol et al, 2013;Anjaly & Tiku, 2018;Erdemli et al, 2015;Kaul & Wadhwa, 2017;Murtaza et al, 2015). Besides, Withaferin-A , one of the withanolides from Ashwagandha, was shown to possess inhibitory activity for HPV and influenza viruses (Cai et al, 2015;Latheef et al, 2017;Munagala et al, 2011). Several studies have also provided evidence that the honeybee propolis inhibits variety of viruses including herpes simplex virus, sindbis virus, parainfuenze-3 virus, human cytomegalovirus, dengue virus type-2, influenza virus A1 and rhinovirus (Amoros et al, 1994;Kwon et al, 2019;Lyu et al, 2005;Serkedjieva et al, 1992;Zandi et al, 2011).…”

Withanone and Withaferin-A are predicted to interact with transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2) and block entry of SARS-CoV-2 into cells

“…Indian Ayurvedic herb, Ashwagandha (Withania sominifera) and honey bee propolis have been heavily used in traditional home medicine systems. Both of these are trusted to boost the immune function, possess a variety of prophylactic and therapeutic activities (Latheef et al, 2017;Munagala et al, 2011). Several studies have provided evidence that honeybee propolis inhibits variety of viruses including herpes simplex virus, sindbis virus, parainfuenze-3 virus, human cytomegalovirus, dengue virus type-2, influenza virus A1 and rhinovirus (Amoros et al, 1994;Kwon et al, 2019;Munagala et al, 2011;Serkedjieva et al, 1992).…”

The impact of Aloe vera and licorice extracts on selected mechanisms of humoral and cell-mediated immunity in pigeons experimentally infected with PPMV-1

“…and Glycyrrhiza uralensis, to drinking water can enhance the immune response in immunosuppressed chickens with the reticuloendotheliosis virus [ 23 ]. Further evidence of the immunomodulatory effects of herbal extracts was provided by Latheef et al (2017) who reported that Withania somnifera , Tinospora cordifolia and Azadirachta indica were capable of inhibiting the replication of the chicken infectious anemia virus and increasing the cell-mediated response of chickens against this virus [ 22 ]. However, the immunomodulatory effects of herbal extracts have never been investigated in domestic pigeons.…”