The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of aqueous extract from Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi roots (SB) on blood parameters and immune response during an experimental trichinellosis. A total of 60 mice infected with 200 Trichinella spiralis larvae were assigned into two groups. One of them served as a control and the second received SB extract orally from day 5 before infection to day 28 after infection (dpi). Blood was sampled at 7, 14, 21 dpi. Lymphocytes obtained from the spleen and mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN) at 7, 14, 21, and 28 dpi were counted, CD4+ and CD8+ subpopulations were analyzed by flow cytometry, and lymphocyte proliferation was estimated with colorimetric (MTT) assay. The intensity of intestinal and muscle invasion was also studied. SB caused a remarkable elevation of banded neutrophils in the blood at 7 dpi. SB increased ConA-stimulated splenocyte proliferation and CD4+ and CD8+ splenocyte subsets at 14 and 21 dpi, whereas MLN lymphocyte subset stimulation involved only CD4+ at 14 dpi. After administration of SB a downward trend in the number of T. spiralis larvae in the muscle was observed. These results suggest that Scutellaria baicalensis root extract stimu- lates murine cellular immune response during intestinal phase of T. spiralis infection.

Florfenicol is a broad-spectrum bacteriostatic antibiotic commonly used for the treatment of systemic infections in farm animals. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of florfenicol on the percentage of T lymphocytes (CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, TCRgd+ cells) and B lymphocytes (Bu-1+ cells) and on total serum anti - sheep red blood cell (SRBC) haemagglutinin titer in the peripheral blood of SRBC–immunized broiler chickens. The study included three groups of broiler chickens differentiated by weight (0.5, 1.2, 2.4 kg). Florfenicol was administered orally at a dose of 30 mg/kg. The drug was administered eight times at 24 h intervals. The chickens were immunized with SRBC 24 h after administration of the third dose of florfenicol. Florfenicol increased the percentage of CD3+ blood lymphocytes with a corresponding decrease in the percentage of B lymphocytes in birds weighing 0.5 and 2.4 kg. Florfenicol reduced the production of total anti SRBC-haemagglutinins on day 5 after antigen injection in all three body weight groups of the broiler chickens. In conclusion, florfenicol exerted a modulating effect on the immune response of the birds and this should be taken into consideration when using this antibiotic for certain indications.