Paeonia japonica Miyabe is a medicinal plant which has been widely used as a component of blood-building decoctions (Chinese medicinal concept: Bu-Xie). The immunopharmacological characteristics of the extract of Paeonia japonica (PJ) were investigated.

The effects of fractions of PJ extract on lymphocyte proliferation were measured by H³-thymidine incorporation assay. The proliferated lymphocyte subsets were analyzed in flow cytometry. The subset cell populations of spleen cells were separated by magnetic cell separation system, and their proliferation by the extract were investigated. The effect of the extract on antibody production was determined in mice challenged with sheep red blood cells (SRBC) using hemolytic plaque forming cell assay.

Spleen cells were proliferated by water extract of PJ. Polysaccharide fraction (PJ-P) of the extract was most active in the proliferation. It was found in flow cytometry that the lymphocyte subset proliferated by PJ-P was B cell population. Among the separated subset cell populations, T cell-depleted cell population and macrophage-depleted cell population were most proliferated by PJ-P. However, positively selected populations of B cells and T cells were not proliferated by PJ-P. These results indicate that B cell proliferation by PJ-P may require the assistance of macrophages or T cells. These results suggest that firstly PJ-P may stimulate macrophages or T cells, and then B cells are activated. The number of antibody-secreting cells was increased by administration of PJ-P in mice immunized with SRBC as a T-dependent antigen.

These results suggest that macrophages and accessory cells are directly activated by PJ-P and then helper T cells and B cells are indirectly activated. As the results, immune responses might be coordinately improved. In conclusion, PJ-P, a polysaccharide of P. japonica, may be a characteristic immunostimulator, which is analogous to polysaccharides such as lentinan, PSK and ginsan.