antibody titre was determined 5 days after primary antibody titre determination was carried out. Total antibody titre
for primary and secondary antibodies was taken as the highest dilution which showed approximately 50%
haemaglutination.
Table 5: Effect on humoral immune response
Group Dose
mg/kg bw
Antibody Titre
Primary Secondary
Control 0 1:256 1:256
PSP 3800 1:256 1:512
MP 7600
15
1:256
1:16
1:2048
1:32
PSP: Pumpkin seed powder; MP: methylprednisolone
Delayed type hypersensitivity test is carried out to determine the effects of pumpkin seeds towards cellular
response. Delayed type hypersensitivity response involves T helper cells 1 (Th 1). The increase in Th cell activity in
turn increases the activity of macrophages resulting in an increased inflammatory response characterized by the
swelling of the footpad of the mice around the site of the injection. From the data in Table 6 below, there is no
significant difference in swelling after 24 hours for any of the groups. After 48 hours, there is a significant increase
in swelling for pumpkin seed 7.6g/kg bw groups indicating that the test substance has stimulant effect on the cellular
immune response. Methyl prednisolone showed significant decrease in footpad swelling compared to the control
group showing it has an immunosuppressive effect on the cellular response.
Based on the results obtained, the test substances have no effect on primary antibody production. The secondary
antibody titre results show that pumpkin seed powder at doses 3.8 and 7.6g/kg bw have stimulation effect on
immune response. In the primary response there is an early production of IgM antibody which soon declines and is
replaced by IgG which can be detected by the secondary antibody titre1.
From the results in Table 7, methylprednisolone group showed a significant decrease in number of lymphocytes
compared of the control group. Both doses of pumpkin seeds, 3.8 and 7.6g/kg bw showed significant increase in
lymphocyte count indicating that it has stimulation effects on lymphocyte proliferation
Table 6: Percentage Changes in Footpad Oedema of the Mice
Group Dose (mg/kg bw) 24 Hours (Δ %) 48 Hours (Δ %)
Control 0 15.71±2.86 47.14±8.57
PSP 3800 22.22±9.62 61.13±9.25
7600 19.44±4.81 69.45±5.82a
MP 15 14.68±2.63 32.14±2.38*
PSP= Pumpkin seed powder; MP= Methyl Prednisolone, Values are the mean±SD of 6 mice in each group. *p