Abstract:

Objective: To observe the immunoregulatory effect of Mactra chinensis meat extract (EMC, containing 19.01 g
of polysaccharide, 1.25 g of taurine and 0.65 g of choline /100 g) in mice. Methods: Mice were orally administered with EMC
at doses of 0.5, 1.5, 3.0 g/(kg•d) for 10 d. A series of immune function indices such as the total number and classification of
white blood cells (WBC), the titer of antibody production in agglutination reaction and the quantity of plaque-forming cells
(PFC), macrophage phagocytosis test, and the weight of body and immune organs were analyzed. Results: Compared with
the control group, the relative number of lymphocytes, the activity of antibody production, the quantity of antibody-forming
cells, the phagocytic function of mouse peritoneal macrophages and the index of spleen in all the treated groups were improved
significantly (P ＜0.05). Conclusion: EMC enhances the immune activity of normal mice effectively.

Key words: water extract from Mactra chinensis (EMC), cellular immunity, humoral immunity, nonspecific immunity