Supplementation of Red Cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. var.) Juice Increases Serum Total Antibody Levels in Mice

YI-LIN LIOU AND JIN-YUARN LIN*

Department of Food Science and Biotechnology, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan, R.O.C.

(Received: February 17, 2011; Accepted: July 1, 2011)

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the effects of supplementing unimmunized (non-specific) and ovalbumin (OVA)/complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA)-immunized mice with red cabbage (RC, Brassica oleracea L. var.) juice for 8 and 6 weeks, respectively. Changes in serum total immunoglobulin (Ig) A, IgE, IgG and IgM levels, as well as OVA-specific IgE, IgG1 and IgG2a titers were determined. The results showed that RC juice supplementation did not significantly affect the body weight, feed intake and feed efficiency in either unimmunized or OVA/CFA-immunized mouse models. Serum OVA-specific antibody titers in OVA/CFA-immunized mice were also not significantly affected. However, RC juice supplementation increased serum total antibody levels, especially IgM and IgE, in the sera of unimmunized mice. The present study suggests that RC juice has immunomodulatory effects in vivo via enhancing humoral immunity under unimmunized status.

Key words: Brassica oleracea L., ovalbumin (OVA)/complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA)-immunization, red cabbage juice, serum antibody