The Impact of Tinospora Cordifolia Dry Seed Water Extract on the Phagocytic Activity of Microglia
Research Article
Open Access
CC BY

The Impact of Tinospora Cordifolia Dry Seed Water Extract on the Phagocytic Activity of Microglia

Fuchangfeng Liu 1*
1 The International Curriculum Center of the High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China, Beijing, China
*Corresponding author: liufuchangfeng@outlook.com
Published on 30 July 2025
Volume Cover
TNS Vol.133
ISSN (Print): 2753-8826
ISSN (Online): 2753-8818
ISBN (Print): 978-1-80590-303-1
ISBN (Online): 978-1-80590-304-8
Download Cover

Abstract

Evaluating the potential mediating effects of Tinospora cordifolia (TC) extracts on microglial phagocytosis is necessary to research on the therapeutic efficacy of this rarely studied plant on neurodegenerative diseases associated with underregulated microglial phagocytic activity. Research has demonstrated the extract’s impact on human neutrophil cells; however, experiments are still in need to include microglia, immune cells in the central nervous system that are tightly bound with various diseases. This research used the Trypan Blue exclusion test to evaluate the cytotoxicity of TC dry seed water extract’s influence on the viability of mouse microglia Bv2 cells, and adopted pH-sensitive fluorescent microspheres to evaluate the impact of various concentrations of TC extract on the phagocytic activity of microglia as measured by relative fluorescent units. Results indicate that 0.1 μg/ml – 1.0 μg/ml TC dry seed water extract did not show significant effects on both cell viability and microglial phagocytosis, while 2.0 μg/ml TC dry seed water extract demonstrated the ability to reduce microglial phagocytosis without exhibiting influential cytotoxicity. 5.0 μg/ml TC dry seed water extract revealed strong cytotoxicity and was therefore not tested subsequently. In conclusion, 2.0 μg/ml TC dry seed water extract serves as a potential agent for managing the phagocytic activity of microglia under inflammation, and therefore may be experimented with for further medical use.

Keywords:

Microglial phagocytosis, Tinospora cordifolia, Cytotoxicity

View PDF
Liu,F. (2025). The Impact of Tinospora Cordifolia Dry Seed Water Extract on the Phagocytic Activity of Microglia. Theoretical and Natural Science,133,1-8.

References

[1]. Yates, C. R., Bruno, E. J., & Yates, M. E. D. (2022). Tinospora Cordifolia: A review of its immunomodulatory properties. Journal of Dietary Supplements, 19(2), 271–285. https: //doi.org/10.1080/19390211.2021.1873214

[2]. Song, W. M., & Colonna, M. (2018). The identity and function of microglia in neurodegeneration. Nature Immunology, 19(10), 1048–1058. https: //doi.org/10.1038/s41590-018-0212-1

[3]. Richard M. Ransohoff & Melissa A. Brown. (2012). Innate immunity in the central nervous system. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 122(4), 1164–1171. https: //doi.org/10.1172/JCI58644

[4]. Suzanne Hickman, Izzy, S., Sen, P., Morsett, L., & El Khoury, J. (2018). Microglia in neurodegeneration. Nature Neuroscience, 21(10), 1359–1369. https: //doi.org/10.1038/s41593-018-0242-x

[5]. Amy F. Lloyd, & Miron, V. E. (2019). The pro-remyelination properties of microglia in the central nervous system. Nature Reviews Neurology, 15(8), 447–458. https: //doi.org/10.1038/s41582-019-0184-2

[6]. Sarah A. Kent, & Miron, V. E. (2024). Microglia regulation of central nervous system myelin health and regeneration. Nature Reviews Immunology, 24(1), 49–63. https: //doi.org/10.1038/s41577-023-00907-4

[7]. Salter, M. W., & Stevens, B. (2017). Microglia emerge as central players in brain disease. Nature Medicine, 23(9), 1018–1027. https: //doi.org/10.1038/nm.4397

[8]. Siamon Gordon, & Martinez, F. O. (2010). Alternative Activation of Macrophages: Mechanism and Functions. Immunity, 32(5), 593–604. https: //doi.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2010.05.007

[9]. Vipin V. Dhote, Kilor, V. A., Mohan Maruga Raja, M. K., Singhai, A., Mandloi, A. S., & Upaganlawar, A. B. (2023). Effect of Tinospora cordifolia on neuroinflammation. In Treatments, Nutraceuticals, Supplements, and Herbal Medicine in Neurological Disorders (pp. 601–621). Elsevier. https: //doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-90052-2.00019-6

[10]. Anuradha Sharma, Bajaj, P., Bhandari, A., & Kaur, G. (2020). From ayurvedic folk medicine to preclinical neurotherapeutic role of a miraculous herb, Tinospora cordifolia. Neurochemistry International, 141, 104891. https: //doi.org/10.1016/j.neuint.2020.104891

[11]. Syed Afroz Ali, & Datusalia, A. K. (2024). Protective effects of Tinospora cordifolia miers extract against hepatic and neurobehavioral deficits in thioacetamide-induced hepatic encephalopathy in rats via modulating hyperammonemia and glial cell activation. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 323, 117700. https: //doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2023.117700

[12]. Hareram Birla, Rai, S. N., Singh, S. S., Zahra, W., Rawat, A., Tiwari, N., Singh, R. K., Pathak, A., & Singh, S. P. (2019). Tinospora cordifolia Suppresses Neuroinflammation in Parkinsonian Mouse Model. NeuroMolecular Medicine, 21(1), 42–53. https: //doi.org/10.1007/s12017-018-08521-7

[13]. Upendra Sharma, Bala, M., Kumar, N., Singh, B., Munshi, R. K., & Bhalerao, S. (2012). Immunomodulatory active compounds from Tinospora cordifolia. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 141(3), 918–926. https: //doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2012.03.027

[14]. Dorion, M.-F., Yaqubi, M., Senkevich, K., Kieran, N. W., MacDonald, A., Chen, C. X. Q., Luo, W., Wallis, A., Shlaifer, I., Hall, J. A., Dudley, R. W. R., Glass, I. A., Birth Defects Research Laboratory, Stratton, J. A., Fon, E. A., Bartels, T., Antel, J. P., Gan-or, Z., Durcan, T. M., & Healy, L. M. (2024). MerTK is a mediator of alpha-synuclein fibril uptake by human microglia. Brain, 147(2), 427–443. https: //doi.org/10.1093/brain/awad298

[15]. Guignant, C., Venet, F., Planel, S., Demaret, J., Gouel-Chéron, A., Nougier, C., Friggeri, A., Allaouchiche, B., Lepape, A., & Monneret, G. (2013). Increased MerTK expression in circulating innate immune cells of patients with septic shock. Intensive Care Medicine, 39(9), 1556–1564. https: //doi.org/10.1007/s00134-013-3006-9

[16]. Lee, J.-W. (2024). Enhanced phagocytosis associated with multinucleated microglia via Pyk2 inhibition in an acute β-amyloid infusion model.

[17]. Lindner, B., Burkard, T., & Schuler, M. (2020). Phagocytosis Assays with Different pH-Sensitive Fluorescent Particles and Various Readouts. BioTechniques, 68(5), 245–250. https: //doi.org/10.2144/btn-2020-0003

Cite this article

Liu,F. (2025). The Impact of Tinospora Cordifolia Dry Seed Water Extract on the Phagocytic Activity of Microglia. Theoretical and Natural Science,133,1-8.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.

About volume

Volume title: Proceedings of ICBioMed 2025 Symposium: AI for Healthcare: Advanced Medical Data Analytics and Smart Rehabilitation

ISBN: 978-1-80590-303-1(Print) / 978-1-80590-304-8(Online)
Editor: Alan Wang
Conference date: 17 October 2025
Series: Theoretical and Natural Science
Volume number: Vol.133
ISSN: 2753-8818(Print) / 2753-8826(Online)