The Effect of The Combination of Phaleria macrocarpa and Phyllanthus niruri Extracts on Peritoneal Macrophages Phagocytic Index of BALB/c Mice

Abstract

Background Phaleria macrocarpa and Phyllanthus niruri have been known for their immunomodulatory effects to enhance and modulate the immune system. Nowadays, various herbal medicines combine herbs in purpose to obtain their benefits. There was not conducted research about the effects of combination both herbs in enhancing Macrophages Phagocytic Activity. Aim To prove the effect of Phaleria macrocarpa and Phyllanthus niruri combination extracts to the differences of Peritoneal Macrophages Phagocytic Index compared to control group, single extract of Phaleria group and single extract of Phyllanthus group. Methods This research was an experimental research with post-test only control group design. The samples were 20 healthy male BALB/c mice divided into 4 groups. The Control group given 0.5 cc water/day as placebo, T1 group given 0.14 mg Phaleria macrocarpa extract/day, T2 group given 0.4 mg Phyllanthus niruri/day and T3 group was given 0,4 mg and 0.14 mg combination extracts/day. The treatment was conducted in 7 days. The samples were terminated and peritoneal macrophages were isolated, cultured and measured for the phagocytic index at day 8. Results Phagocytic Index Means were 0.038 for control, 0.114 for T1 group, 0.347 for T2 group and 0.068 for T3 group. The ANOVA test result showed at least a difference between two groups (p=0,001). From the post-hoc analysis, significant result was obtained from group T3 and T2 (p=0,020), while for the group T3 and Control (p=0,061) and group T3 and T1 (p=0,417) there was no difference. Conclusions There is no difference of Peritoneal Macrophages Phagocytic Index of BALB/c mice that is treated with the combination extracts of Phaleria macrocarpa and Phyllanthus niruri compared to the control. The differences occur in the groups with the single-extract treatment. Keywords Phaleria macrocarpa, Phyllanthus niruri, Peritoneal Macrophages, Macrophages Phagocytic Index