Immunological effects of Teucrium polium on neutrophils

Teucrium polium, a medicinal plant that belongs to the family Labiatae is widely used in folk medicine as antidiabetic, antibactrial and anti-inflammatory agent. In this study, we evaluated the effect of Teucrium polium on the mouse polymorphonuclear neutrophils. The animals were divided into five groups including four test and one control group, which orally received 50 and 100 mg/kg of aqueous and alcoholic extract of the plant and saline (in controls) respectively. Respiratory burst of the peritoneal neutrophils were evaluated after 10 days by chemiluminescenece assay using PMA as stimulator of oxidative burst. The results showed that alcoholic and aqueous extracts of the plant are effective in augmentation of neutrophil activity but this effect was statistically significant only for aqueous extract in 100 mg/kg. Results of this study showed that the anti-inflammatory effect of the plant may result partly from improvement in neutrophils function.