The anti-stress effects of Guangdong herbal tea on immunocompromise in mice loaded with restraint stress

Abstract

Guangdong Herbal Tea (GHT) has been consumed as a traditional remedy for Shanghuo in southern China for a long time. Shanghuo, a traditional Chinese concept, is a physiological process of uncoordinated response to stress with physical and mental fatigue syndromes. In this study, we investigated the main components and anti-stress effects of GHT in restrain-stressed mice. The high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) fingerprint of GHT extract was recorded and the chemicals of main peaks were identified. The effects of GHT on number and activity of nature killer (NK) and T cells, cytokines and the antioxidative activity of splenocytes were studied in restrained mice. Results showed oral administration of GHT prevented stress-induced immunocompromise by improving splenocyte number, NK cell response against mouse T cell lymphoma cells (YAC)-1 cell and antitumor T cell response against syngeneic P815 in the spleens of mice loaded with acute restraint stress. GHT also significantly improved the proportion of T-helper (Th) type lymphocyte, the production of Th cell-dependent cytokines and the antioxidative activity of splenocytes. These results indicated that GHT attenuates stress by increasing the numbers and activities of immunocytes in restraint mice, by exerting antioxidative activity directly or indirectly in immunocytes. © 2011 The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan.