Mahdieh Shojaee; Razieh Sarabadani
Abstract
Immune system disorders have been recognized as a cause of the autism spectrum disorder (ASD). TNFα and IL-6 are significant markers of the ASD. Increased levels of these cytokines in the brain and blood of the ASD-engaged patients not only affect the immune system disorders but also contribute to many ...
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Immune system disorders have been recognized as a cause of the autism spectrum disorder (ASD). TNFα and IL-6 are significant markers of the ASD. Increased levels of these cytokines in the brain and blood of the ASD-engaged patients not only affect the immune system disorders but also contribute to many common behavioral abnormalities exhibited by such patients. In this research, we investigated the effect of the broccoli extract and its sulforaphane content on two immune system factors, namely TNFα and IL-6. For this purpose, with its effectiveness confirmed via gas chromatography – mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) and MTT assay, the broccoli extract was subjected to immune system induction to maximize the activity of the immune system factors. The cells were treated with the broccoli extract at three different dosages, namely 1, 1.5 and 2 mg of the cell per milliliter of the broccoli extract, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) were performed for three treatment times, namely 1, 2, and 3 days. A comparison between the stimulated immune system cells without treatment against those treated with the 2 mg of broccoli extract for 3 days clearly demonstrated the effectiveness of the broccoli extract for attenuating the activity of the TNFα and IL-6 factors. It was also observed that higher concentrations of the extract and longer treatment time were more effective in reducing these two factors. In general, the results of the present experiment suggest the effect of broccoli extract on reducing the inflammation of the immune system caused by these two factors.
