Potato freeze-thaw solution enhances immune function and antitumor activity in vivo.

Although potato extract, derived from various methods, exhibits anticancer, antiviral and anti-parasite activities in vitro and in vivo, the bioactivity of potato solution remains unclear using the freeze-thaw extraction method granted by the State Intellectual Property Office of China. In the present study, a potato freeze-thaw solution (PFTS) was fed to mice with ascites tumor that were pre-treated with cyclophosphamide. The numbers of peripheral white blood cells (WBCs), macrophage phagocytosis, lymphocyte transformation and survival of mice were measured. While mice injected with cyclophosphamide exhibited decreased counts of peripheral WBCs, treatment of the cyclophosphamide-injected mice with PFTS for 10 days significantly increased the number of peripheral WBCs and reversed WBC counts to the normal level, a comparable effect to that of Ganoderma lucidum. In addition, treatment with PFTS for 20 days significantly enhanced peritoneal macrophage phagocytosis and lymphocyte transformation. Lastly, PFTS was noticed to prolong the survival of tumor-bearing mice when compared with that of control mice. Collectively, these data suggested that PFTS, at least in part, enhances immune function and possesses antitumor activity.