Comparative phytochemical profiling and effects of nerium oleander extracts on the activities of murine peritoneal macrophages

Abstract

Nerium oleander is a medicinal plant. Apart from its ethnopharmacological uses, pharmacognostic studies have revealed several of its bioactivities. Previously we demonstrated that the phenolic and flavonoid rich extracts of oleander leaf, stem and root possess potent antioxidant and free radical scavenging activities. Moreover, the leaf extract actively modulates the Th1/Th2 cytokine balance and exerts anti-inflammatory activities on murine splenic lymphocytes. Therefore, the present study was designed to evaluate the effect of oleander leaf, stem and root extracts on phagocytosis and the free radical-related activities of murine peritoneal macrophages. In addition, phytochemical profiling was performed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results demonstrated that the increase in phagocytosis and decrease in myeloperoxidase (MPO) were in the order of leaf > root > stem. The inhibition of cell adhesion, nitric oxide (NO) and elevation of respiratory burst activity was in the order of leaf > stem > root. However, the bioactivities of the leaf extract were much high than those of the stem and root extracts. Phytochemical analysis also revealed the presence of several bioactive constituents in oleander extracts. Therefore, the present study demonstrated that oleander possesses the capacity to modulate macrophage activities and the bioactivities are attributed to the numerous phytochemicals identified in oleander extracts.