Immunostimulatory activity of the aqueous extract from the leaves of Sambucus racemosa subsp. pendula through TLR4‑dependent JNK activation in RAW264.7 cells

Abstract

. Sambucus racemosa subsp. pendula (SRP) is an endemic plant of Korea, exclusively found on Ulleungdo Island. SRP is widely used as both a traditional medicine and food source. However, there is a lack of research on the phar‑ macological activities of SRP. Therefore, the present study aimed to explore the potential use of SRP leaves (SRPL) as a natural immunostimulant by analyzing its macrophage acti‑ vation properties and the underlying mechanisms of action. Among the various extraction conditions, SRPL (AE20‑SRPL) extracted with 100% distilled water at 20˚C induced the highest nitric oxide (NO) production in RAW264.7 cells. Thus, the further studies were performed using AE20‑SRPL.