Investigations of the thymomimetic activity of a selected phytopharmaceutical preparation--Reumaherb tablets by flow cytometry.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of Reumaherb tablets, a plant preparation, on the maturation of mice thymocytes in the presence of glycocorticosteroid by the method of cytotoxicity test performed in vitro in two versions differing in methodology. The cell source for incubation was thymus of female Balb/c mice, four weeks old. Reumaherb tablets were added to the culture of thymocytes diluted by a factor of 10-400. The searched thymomimetic activity of the investigated Reumaherb preparation was found in both versions of the test, this being demonstrated by a 17% increase in the number of surviving cells in the presence of glycocorticosteroid added to the culture. This effect strongly depends on the applied doses. By a microscopic evaluation of the results a maximum stimulation was found at a 200-fold dilution of the examined preparation, while in the cytometric analysis a similar maximum effect was observed at a 20-fold dilution.