Immuno‐stimulating Activities of Purple Corn Stems

Maize hybrid grain, Saekso 1 was developed in 2008 by Gangwon Agricultural Research and Extension Services in Korea and registered in 2011. A single‐cross hybrid, Saekso 1 is a semi‐flint deep‐purple corn. Kernels are yellow, while the husks, cobs and stems are purple. Due to the Saekso 1 sensitivity to the excess moisture after seeding, water supply should be carefully managed, and it should be harvested at the suitable time to obtain the best anthocyanin pigment content. In this study, in order to enhance immune activities of Saekso 1 corn stems (S1S). Balb/c mice were feed daily for two weeks at S1S 1%, 10% and 15%. Treatment were to normal (general feed and saline), control (general feed and LPS) and treatment 1 (S1S 1% and LPS), treatment 2 (S1S 10% and LPS) and treatment 3 (S1S 15% and LPS). To measure body weight growth rate, the growth of splenocytes, the serum TNF‐α, IL‐1β, IL‐6 and IL‐10 level. The level of TNF‐α, IL‐1β, IL‐6 and IL‐10 production was detected by the ELISA assay when using the cytokine kit. Cytokine was statistically increased at supplemented groups with LPS and treatment with S1S significantly decreased the LPS‐induced TNF‐α and IL‐6 production. The results of this study may suggest that supplementation with S1S increases the immune function by regulating cytokine production capacity for activated macrophages. Further studies are needed to identify the stimulative and immunomodulating components of purple corn stems.Support or Funding InformationPurple CornThis abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.