| Abstract: | Air-dried aerial parts of Artemisia annua were extracted with petroleum ether, diethyl ether, ethyl acetate, ethanol and water successively. The extracts were screened for their in vitro effects on human complement, proliferation of T lymphocytes, and chemiluminescence by zymosan-stimulated polymorphonuclear leukocytes. All extracts exhibited dose-dependent inhibitory activities in our immunoassays. The highest activity towards the classical pathway of complement was found in ethyl acetate and ethanol extracts, whereas in the chemiluminescence assay, diethyl ether and ethyl acetate extracts showed the most pronounced inhibitory activities. In the T-cell proliferation assay, the diethyl ether extract exhibited the most potent inhibitory effect. Artemisinin showed no immunomodulatory activity in our assays. |
