The roles of betulinic acid on circulating concentrations of creatine kinase and immunomodulation in mice infected with chloroquine-susceptible and resistant strains of Plasmodium berghei

Abstract

Complete malarial therapy depends largely on the immunological and in ammatory response of the host to the invading potentials of malarial parasite. In this study, we evaluated the roles of betulinic acid on immunological response, anti-in ammatory potentials and concentrations of creatine kinase in mice infected with chloroquine susceptible (NK 65) and resistant (ANKA) strains of Plasmodium berghei. Serum Interlukins 1β and 6 (IL-1 β, IL-6), tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), immunoglobulins G and M (IgG and IgM), C-reactive protein (CRP) and creatine kinas (CK). Furthermore, liver marker enzymes; aspartate, alanine aminotransferases (AST and ALT, respectively) and gamma glutammyl transferase (GGT) were determined. The results showed that betulinic acid dose dependently decreased IL-1 β, IL-6, TNFα and CRP relative to the infected control. The IgG and IgM levels signi cantly increased in both models while CK decreased insigni cantly in both models. Serum AST, ALT and GGT signi cantly decreased compared to the infected control. These results showed that betulinic acid has antiin ammatory, immunomodulatory and mitigating effects on malarial infection in mice. Furthermore, the down-regulatory effect of betulinic acid on CK is indicative of decrease in muscle injury which is a major pathological concern in malarial infection and treatment.

Betulin Accelerated the Functional Recovery of Injured Muscle in a Mouse Model of Muscle Contusion

“…Higher CK and LDH levels and massive neutrophil infiltration are observed in animal models of muscle damage 22 , 24 - 26 . Olanlokun et al indicate that betulinic acid, one oxidized form of betulin, decreases CK activity to attenuate malaria infection-induced cardiac and skeletal injury 27 . Our data revealed that betulin treatment not only attenuated CK and LDH levels (Figure 4 ) but also blunted neutrophil infiltration in damaged sites (Figure 5 A) after contusion-induced muscle injury.…”