The immunomodulatory effects of Carapax Trionycis ultrafine powder on cyclophosphamide‐induced immunosuppression in Balb/c mice

Abstract BACKGROUND There are abundant resources of Carapax Trionycis from soft‐shelled turtle processing wastes each year in China. Our preliminary work showed that Carapax Trionycis ultrafine powder (CTUP) obtained using ball‐milling with a particle size of 2.24 μm (D0.025) contained more active ingredients. The CTUP D0.025 has a good bioaccessibility, but there has been no report about the immunomodulatory function of CTUP. Therefore, using a cyclophosphamide‐induced immunosuppression mice model, we investigated the immunomodulatory effects of CTUP D0.025. RESULTS The results indicated that CTUP D0.025 administration significantly improved the immune organ (bone marrow, thymus and spleen) indices, ameliorated spleen tissue morphology and increased the capacity of splenocyte proliferation and the activity of macrophage phagocytosis. CTUP D0.025 also significantly promoted the secretion of cytokines (IL‐2, IL‐4, IL‐10, IFN‐ γ and TNF‐ α ), improved the related mRNA expression levels of IL2, IFN‐ γ , T‐bet and GATA3 in immunosuppressed mice and increased the production of serum hemolysin and the levels of IgG, IgM as well as complement C 3 . Moreover, CTUP D0.025 administration enhanced the antioxidant capacity of mice, exhibited a moderating effect on the damage of bone and skeletal muscle and improved the recovery of bone mineral density and calcium metabolism. CONCLUSIONS These findings demonstrated that CTUP D0.025 had an effective immune‐enhancing function in immunosuppressive Balb/c mice and also exhibited anti‐osteoporosis properties. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry