A combination of Polypodium leucotomos extract with vitamin A, vitamin C and selenium as an immune adjuvant against recurrent infections

ABSTRACT

Plant chemodiversity is a helpful tool for disease prevention and a basis for adjuvant treatments to conventional therapies. In this regard, the extract of Polypodium leucotomos rhizomes, PLE, has shown benefits fighting inflammation and recurrent infections but its molecular mechanism is poorly undersood. This work shows that Plesinox 3A, containing PLE, Vitamins A, C, and selenium, helps modulate the initial inflammatory response triggered by bacterial LPS through the upregulation of IL8 and IL10, together with downregulation of COX2, IL1B and TNF, in a more efficient manner than PLE alone. Additionally, this formulation enhances the antiviral response through the upregulation of MX1, IFNA1 and IFNG in different cell types. Finally, the addition of vitamins and selenium to PLE in Plesinox 3A greatly boosts the anti-bacterial properties of PLE alone. Overall, these findings support the combined use of PLE, vitamins, and selenium, in the form of Plesinox 3A as an immune booster to prevent recurrent infections, highlighting a gene set potentially involved in its beneficial effect, as well as showing its direct anti-bacterial properties, which are greater than those of PLE alone.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

KEYWORDS:

• Polypodium leucotomos extract
• molecular mechanism
• anti-inflammatory
• anti-viral
• anti-bacterial

Acknowledgements:

The authors wish to acknowledge the involvement of Amparo Estepa, who passed away, in the generation of data for this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by Asacpharma