Bioactivity of cherry (Muntingia calabura L.) leaves extract for IL-6 production and NF-B activity in hyperglycemic BALB/c mice

Hyperglycemia can cause immune system imbalance and lead to the risk of inflammation. Cherry leaves (M. calabura L.) has the property to cure some diseases such as hyperglycemia and inflammation. This study aimed to understand the role of cherry leaf extract for IL-1β and IL-6 production by macrophages, TGFβ production by regulator T cells and NF-κB activity by B lymphocyte and also by natural killer cells in male BALB/c hyperglycemia model mice. Hyperglycemia induction was done by a high-fat diet and 20% fructose. Cherry leaf extract was used as dried decoction for oral treatment at dosages of 420, 700, and 2800 mg/kg body weight. Immunocompetence cells were isolated from axillary and mesenteric lymph nodes and stained for flow cytometric analysis. Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA and Post Hoc Tukey HSD by 95% significance (p < 0.05) on SPSS 16.0 for Windows. The result showed the production of IL-1β, IL-6, and TGFβ and activity of NF-κB were increased in hyperglycemic mice. Three doses of cherry leaf extract in hyperglycemia mice could decrease the relative number of macrophages which express IL-6 and IL-1β also decreased the number of B lymphocytes as well as Natural Killer cells which expressed NFκB toward the normal condition. Overall, this study showed that cherry leaf extract has a vital role in decreasing IL-6, IL-1β, TGFβ productions and NF-κB activity in hyperglycemic BALB/c mice.