First we tested Echinacea and Echinacea in combination with Beta Glucan. The Echinacea stimulation was surprising, since we weren’t suspecting Echinacea to produce IgM. What is interesting is when the EP and B -Glucan are administered together, the B -Glucan suppresses the stimulating effects of EP on the B cells. There is very little B cell activation and very little IgM production.
Our next test was to compare B -Glucan to our positive control, RPMI. These results show that B - Glucan produces even less stimulation than the RPMI. Also important to note is that B-glucan 500 produces less IgM than B-glucan 100 or 50.
The next experiment performed was the proliferation assay. The amount of mitosis among b cells treated with Echinacea was much greater.
The next test was to determine the amount of b Cells mitosis with B glucan as a stimulant.Even compared to RPMI, our positive control, the amount of b cell
proliferation is minimal
The LPS results were as expected. Even though the amount of LPS used was significantly smaller than either B Glucan or Echinacea , it still produced the greatest IgM production and B cell proliferation.
The LPS produced a large amount of IgM, more far more than any other stimulant, the average being 603.396 micrograms/ml. The EP 500 produced 220.908 micrograms/ml The B glucan 500 produced the very small number of 54.252 micrograms/ml. The B glucan 100 produced 91.554micrograms/ml. 50 B glucan produced 92.28 micrograms/ml. 500 B glucan 500 EP gave 45.908 micrograms/ml. 100 EP and B glucan made 90.574 micrograms. Finally, 50 EP and B glucan produced 128.368.
The proliferation assay tested the same stimulants as the ELISA lab. The media cause the b cells to multiply to an average number of 3779.35 cpm cells. This number is extraordinarily high. This is because one of our 4 wells gave an uncommon result of 9713.2 cpm. If we Disclude this number as an outlier, the average would be much less. The LPS produced 56366.75 cpm. The 500 EP produced 4420.2 cpm. The 500 B glucan produced 134.25 cpm. The 100 B glucan produced 58.5 cpm. The 50 B glucan 283.275 cpm. The 500 B glucan and EP produced 43.175 cpm. The 100 B glucan and EP produced 40.575 cpm. The 50 B glucan and EP produced 39.25 cpm.
The B cell reaction to the EP stimulant was surprising. We were expecting little or no reaction with EP because it is so widely used. The data showed other wise. The EP stimulated the B cells and the B cells produced antibodies. Examining the table shows that the amount of antibodies produced is considerably more than Media B cells. This means that EP can have harmful effects on the body if taken in large enough doses. The harmful amount is unknown, more testing needs to be done. An interesting comparison is the EP compared to the three B- glucan stimulants The echinacea stimulated far more B -cells to produce IgM than any Beta Glucan. While these effects are not as great as those of LPS, EP can still be considered some what of a danger because of the B cell activation.
What is interesting is when the EP and B -Glucan are administered together, the B -Glucan suppresses the stimulating effects of EP on the B cells. There is very little B cell activation and very little IgM production. If in further testing EP and B -Glucan prove to synthesize, have greater macrophage stimulation combined than alone, the two together would be an effective treatment for a wide range of infections.
B -Glucan on its own does not activate B cells and there is very little IgM production. B -Glucan proves itself as a safe treatment for diseases such as TB.. It is interesting to observe that B -Glucan 500ug produces less IgM than B -Glucan 50ug. This means one of two things, we have either reached a toxic amount or 50ug is the optimal amount. More testing is required.
B -Glucan, based on our data, has proved to be a safe drug to administer for macrophage stimulation without non-specifically activating B cells. EP and B -Glucan can also be used in combination to stimulate macrophages safely. Sufferers of TB in third world countries can take these cost effective drugs and now have hope for a cure.