2014, Vol. 2, Issue 6, Part A

author(s)
Veena N, Sumit Arora, Suman Kapila, Ram Ran Bijoy Singh, Antariksh Katara, Madan Mohan Pandey, Subha Rastogi and Ajay Kumar Singh Rawat

abstract
Asparagus racemosus is an important medicinal plant used in the traditional Indian system of medicine. Milk is often used as a carrier for delivering plant bioactives for imparting the therapeutic attributes of the medicinal plants. In the present study, immunomodulatory and antioxidative potential of milk fortified with Asparagus racemosus (Shatavari) was investigated using a freeze dried aqueous extract of Asparagus racemosus using mice as the animal model. Oral administration of test the material with (at 1%) or without milk to mice for 4 weeks resulted in a significant increase (p<0.05) in percent phagocytosis, proliferation of lymphocytes, reduced glutathione content and decreased lipid peroxidation. The immune enhancing and antioxidative property may be related to the antioxidant vitamins, saponins, glycosides, polyphenol and flavonoids present in the extract. These results clearly indicate that milk fortified with Asparagus racemosus may be effective against free radical mediated diseases and has immunomodulatory potential.