ABSTRACT
Plant-derived compounds that modulate the immune responses emerge as frontline treatment agents versus cancer, infectious diseases, and autoimmunity. Forty phytochemicals are isolated from five Bhutanese Sowa Rigpa medicinal plants (Aconitum laciniatum, Ajania nubegina, Corydalis crispa, Corydalis dubia, and Pleurospermum amabile) and 14 purified compounds, tested for their immunomodulatory properties via a murine dendritic cell line, and cytotoxicity versus a human cholangiocyte cell line, via xCEL-Ligence real-time cell monitoring. The five medicinal plants, which grow in extreme Himalayan mountain ecology, are used in the scholarly Bhutanese traditional medicines for treating various disorders, which bear relevance to modern disease pathologies (e.g., inflammation, tumor, and infections). The study not only identifies potential immunomodulatory compounds from five Bhutanese medicinal plants but also provides molecular and immunological data to support their reported efficacy. A vast reservoir of selected species remains untapped in terms of phytochemical constituents and pharmacology, 268which results in the research gap for future studies. Further investigations of endemic plants, and their phytochemical constituents, are needed to understand completely the molecular mechanisms of their action in vivo and in vitro and to assure the plant extracts are safe for human use.
