effects of hypericum perforatum extract on igg titer, leukocytes subset and spleen index in rats

objectives: hypericum perforatum l. is a medicinal plant containing many polyphenolic compounds, ‎including flavonoids and phenolic acids with antidepressant and anti-inflammatory properties. ‎this study was investigated the effects of hypericum perforatum extract (hpe) on immunity, ‎body weight (bw), and spleen index (si) in rats.‎ materials and methods: a total of 24 wistar male rats were randomly received 4 different doses (6 rats each) of hpe ‎‎(0, 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg bw) intraperitoneally for 14 days using a completely ‎randomized design. on days 1 and 7, rats were received 0.5 ml srbc (10%) injection. blood ‎samples were collected on day 14 to evaluate igg titer and leukocyte count. on days 1, 7 and ‎‎14, the bw and on day 14 spleen were weighted for si. ‎ results: the igg titer increased with higher doses of hpe. the hpe increased number of ‎lymphocytes at 200 mg but decreased at 400 mg, number of neutrophils decreased at 200 mg ‎but increased at 400 mg, and number of monocytes increased at 100 mg and 200 mg but ‎decreased at 400 mg (p<0.01). increasing doses of hpe lowered bw (p<0.01). ‎the hpe increased si at 100 mg and 200 mg but decreased at 400 mg (p>0.072).  ‎ conclusions: the results showed that hpe slightly improved igg titer but significantly increased ‎the number of leukocytes and monocytes at 200 mg, and neutrophils at 400 mg. the hpe ‎decreased bw at 100 mg and 200 mg with no damage on spleen.  ‎