The Role of Rhodomyrtus tomentosa (Aiton) Hassk. Fruits in Downregulation of Mast Cells-Mediated Allergic Responses
Figure 1
The inhibitory effect of RFE on mast cell degranulation in calcium ionophore A23187-activated RBL-2H3 cells ((a) and (b)) and cell viability (c). (a) The cells were treated with different concentrations of RFE for 24 h before stimulation with calcium ionophore A23187 for 30 min. The level of degranulation was measured via a spectrofluorometric assay. (b) The cells were pretreated with RFE for 24 h and incubated with Fura-3/AM for 1 h before exposure to calcium ionophore A23187 for 5 min. The Fura-3/AM fluorescence intensity was measured. (c) The cells were treated with various concentrations of RFE for 24 h. Cell viability was assessed by MTT method, and the results were expressed as percentage of surviving cells over blank cells (no addition of RFE). Each determination was made in three independent experiments, and the data are shown as means ± SD. Different letters A–E indicate significant difference among groups at p < 0.05 by Duncan’s multiple-range test. The same letter indicates that the difference between the means is not statistically significant. If two groups have different letters, they are significantly different from each other at p < 0.05.