PARACTIN^® for increasing immunity in human being
Juan Hancke, Juan Bertologlio, H Folch, RA Burgos

Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology, Institute of Pharmacology, Institute of Immunology, and Hospital Regional de Valdivia, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia

PARACTIN^® is a patented extract derived from Andrographis Paniculata. The study was done with students from an agro ecological school in Chile. After 3 month treatment, the students receiving 15mg of PARACTIN^® daily showed a significant lower incidence of common cold as compared to the placebo group indicating possible immunostimulating effect (29.63% vs. 63.3%).

Efforts to elucidate the mechanism of action of the active compounds revealed that at low dosage, PARACTIN^® were able to significantly increase the production of IFN gamma and IL-2 without modifying Th2 antibody (IL-2, IL-10 cytokines) production. In addition, RNA messenger for Interferon gamma was also increased. Interferon gamma is the first line of defense against viral infection such as Influenza, and is activated by T cell. In this study we have also found that at low dosage, PARACTIN^® activates T cell, and increase Interleukin 2 (IL-2) cytokines. IL-2 assists T-cells to kill viral invaders and makes infection-fighting cells multiply and mature. In a recent clinical study with healthy students from Universidad Austral de Chile we assessed the potential immunostimulating effect of PARACTIN^® on cellular immunity. We conclude that at low dosage, PARACTIN^® can be used as immunostimulating drugs in conditions where the immunity is severely deteriorated, such as recurrent colds, urinary tract infections, and AIDS.