Effect Of Chinese Soft-Shell Turtle Egg Powder On Immune Functions In Mice

The effects of whole Chinese soft-shell turtle egg powder (WTE) on immune functions is unknown. Female ICR 6-week-old mice ( n = 80) were administered for 30 days with 1.125 g . kg(-1) WTE. Spleen and thymus were weighed and spleen lymphocyte proliferation response to concanavalin A ( Con A), plaque forming cell(PFC) assay, phagocytosis assay and NK cell activity detection were performed on day 30. Compared to vehicle control, WTE increased the relative weight of spleen (p< 0.05). Mice treated with WTE showed increased Con A stimulated lymphocyte proliferation (p< 0.05) and PFC (p< 0.01). Carbon clearance capacity (p< 0.05) and NK cell activity (p< 0.01) were also enhanced while a mild improvement was seen in phagocytosis capacity of peritoneal cavity macrophages in WTE treated mice. In conclusion, our data provides evidence of the enhanced effects of WTE in cell-mediated immunity, humoral immunity and NK cell activity in mice.