Immunostimulatory activity of polysaccharides from Cheonggukjang

Abstract

Cheonggukjang is a Korean whole soybean paste fermented by Bacillus subtilis and regarded as a healthy food. The objective of this study was to investigate the immunostimulatory activity of polysaccharides from Cheonggukjang (PSCJ) in RAW 264.7 macrophages and an animal model. PSCJ induced mRNA expressions of inducible nitric oxide synthase and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) by activating nuclear factor-κB, and subsequently increased the productions of nitric oxide (NO) and TNF-α in murine recombinant interferon-γ-primed RAW 264.7 macrophages. Furthermore, after daily oral administration of PSCJ, immobility time decreased significantly in the PSCJ-administered group (200 or 400 mg/kg) on day 10. Taken together, these results suggest that the PSCJ has a possible role improving immune function through regulatory effects on immunological parameters, such as NO and TNF-α productions and changes in indicators related to fatigue.

Keywords: BUN; CK; Cheonggukjang; DMEM; DMSO; DTT; Dulbecco’s modified Eagle medium; ELISA; ERK; FBS; FST; Forced swimming test; IFN-γ; IL-2; Immunostimulatory activity; IκB-α; JNK; LDH; LPS; MAPK; Macrophage; NF-κB; NO; PARP-1; PMA; PMSF; PSCJ; Polysaccharide; RPMI; SDS; TNF-α; TP; blood urea nitrogen; c-Jun N-terminal kinase; creatine kinase; dimethyl sulfoxide; dithiothreitol; enzyme linked immunosorbent assay; extracellular-signal-related kinase; fetal bovine serum; forced swimming test; iNOS; inducible nitric oxide synthase; inhibitory κB-α; interferon-γ; interleukin-2; lactic dehydrogenase; lipopolysaccharide; mitogen-activated protein kinase; nitric oxide; nuclear factor-κB; phenylmethylsulfonylfluride; phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate; poly [ADP-ribose] polymerase-1; polysaccharides from Cheonggukjang; rosewell park memorial institute medium; sodium dodecyl sulfate; total protein; tumor necrosis factor-α.