A MINOR SIMPLE PROJECT ON IMMUNOMODULATORS. It explains types of immunity, hyper sensitivity, allergy, immunostimulants, immunoadjuvants, immunosuppressants etc. with relevant ayurvedic portions.

1. IMMUNOMODULATORS

2. IMMUNITY
 Immunity may be defined as the ability of an animal’s body to
react to a foreign antigen and eliminate it, in the interest of
the safety of the animal.

3. IMMUNITY
INNATE/NATURAL
ACQUIRED/ADAPTIVE

4. INNATE IMMUNITY
 Innate immunity: It is not dependent on prior antigen
exposure(priming), is primitive and of relatively low affinity,
but is broadly active.
 Effectors: Granulocytes, Monocytes, Macrophages, Natural
killer cells, Mast cells & Basophils.

5. ADAPTIVE IMMUNITY
 Adaptive Immunity: It is antigen-specific, depends on antigen
priming, and can be of very high affinity.
 Mediators are T&B lymphocytes, shows immunological
memory.

6. Active Immunity
 Type of immunity due to the development of antibodies by
the individual himself.
 It can be natural and species specific.
 Eg: The relative immunity of horses, dogs and rats to TB or it
can be acquired by the introduction of an antigen.

7. Passive Immunity
 Immunity acquired by the transfer of antibodies from a donor
to a recipient.
 It can be acquired naturally.
 Eg: By a fetus receiving maternal antibodies across the
placenta, or artificially by the administration of anti-serum
containing Ig antibodies.

8. IMMUNOMODULATORS
 Immunomodulators are substances that have been shown to
modify the immune systems response to a threat upon it.
 They modulate and potentiate the weapons of your immune
system keeping them in a highly prepared state for any threat
it may encounter. With this balancing effect, all subsequent
immune responses improve.

9. IMMUNOMODULATION
 Immunomodulation is the process of modifying an immune
response in a positive or negative manner by administration
of a drug or compound.
 Immunomodulators are biological or synthetic substances,
which can stimulate, suppress or modulate any of the
immune system including both adaptive and innate arms of
the immune response.

10.  Many proteins , amino acids ,natural compounds have shown
a significant ability to regulate immune responses, including
interferons-ϒ,steroids , DMG.
 These are biological or synthetic substances, which can
stimulate, suppress or modulate any of the immune system
including both adaptive and innate arms of the immune
response.

11. Immunomodulators
Immunoadjuvants Immunostimulants Immunosuppressants

12. IMMUNOMODULATORS
Immunoadjuvants:
These agents are used
for enhancing
vaccines efficacy and
therefore, could be
considered specific
immune stimulants.
Immunostimulants:
These agents are
inherently nonspecific
in nature as they
envisaged to enhance
body’s
resistance against
infection.
Immunosuppressants:
These are a structurally
and
functionally
heterogeneous group of
drugs, which are often
concomitantly
administered in
combination regimens to
treat
various types of organ
transplant rejection and
autoimmune
Diseases.

13. Immunoadjuvants
 These agents are used for enhancing efficacy of vaccines
and therefore, could be considered as specific immune
stimulants.
 Eg: Freund’s adjuvant, However since it contains Bacillus
Calmette Guiren it is not appropriate for human use.
 Immunoadjuvants hold the promise of being the true
modulators of the immune response, it has been proposed to
exploit them for selecting between cellular and humoral, Th1
and Th2, immunoprotective and immunodestructive and
resgenic (IgE) versus Immunoglobulin G (IgG) types of
immune responses.
 Lack of availability of a suitable adjuvant for human has been
one of the important stumbling blocks in our ability to develop
various vaccines.

14. Immunosuppressant drugs
 These agents could be used for the control of pathological
immune response in autoimmune diseases, graft rejection,
graft vs. Host disease, hypersensitivity immune reaction,
immune pathology associated with infections.

15. Immunostimulant drugs
 These agents are envisaged to enhance body’s resistance
against infections and may be against allergy, autoimmunity and
cancer as well.
 These agents are inherently non-specific in nature, but they can
act through both innate and adaptive arms of immune response.
 In healthy individuals the immunostimulants are expected to
serve as prophylactic or promotive agent ie. As immune
potentiators by enhancing the basal level of immune response.
 In individuals with impairment of Immune system as an
immunotherapeutic agent.

16. IMMUNOMODULATORS
IMMUNOADJUVANTS
FREUND’ S
ADJUVANT
IMMUNOSUPRESSANTS
CALCINEURIN
INHIBITORS
GLUCOCORTIC
OIDS
ANTIPROLIFER
ATIVE AGENTS
MONOCLONAL
ANTIBODIES
IMMUNOSTIMULATORS
LEVAMISOLE
THALIDOMIDE
BCG
RECOMBINANT
CYTOKINES

17. IMMUNODEFICIENCY
 Immunodeficiencies occur when one or more of the components of
the immune system are inactive.
 The ability of the immune system to respond to pathogens is
diminished. It is common in both the young and the elderly, with
immune responses beginning to decline at around 50 years of age
due to immunosenescence.

18. Causes
 Developed countries – obesity, alcoholism, drug use.
 Developing countries – Malnutrition
 Diets lacking sufficient proteins.
 Single nutrient deficiency such as Iron, copper, zinc,
selenium, Vitamins A,C,E and B6 and folic acid.
 Loss of thymus: at an early age due to genetic mutation or
surgical removal.

19. Autoimmunity
 Overactive immune responses comprise the other end of
immune dysfunction, particularly the auto-immune disorders.
 Here the immune system fails to properly distinguish
between self and non-self, and attacks part of the body.
 Under normal circumstances , many T cells and antibodies
react with self-peptides.

20. Hypersensitivity
 Hypersensitivity is an immune response that damages the
body's own tissues. They are divided into four classes (Type I –
IV) based on the mechanisms involved and the time course of
the hypersensitive reaction.
 Type I hypersensitivity is an immediate or anaphylactic reaction,
often associated with allergy. Symptoms can range from mild
discomfort to death.
 Type II hypersensitivity occurs when antibodies bind to antigens
on the patient's own cells, marking them for destruction. This is
also called antibody-dependent (or cytotoxic) hypersensitivity,
and is mediated by IgG and IgM antibodies
 Immune complexes (aggregations of antigens, complement
proteins, and IgG and IgM antibodies) deposited in various
tissues trigger Type III hypersensitivity reactions .
 Type IV hypersensitivity (also known as cell-mediated or
delayed type hypersensitivity) usually takes between two and
three days to develop. Type IV reactions are involved in many
autoimmune and infectious diseases, but may also involve
contact dermatitis (poison ivy). These reactions are mediated by
T cells, monocytes, and macrophages .

21. AYURVEDIC CONCEPT

22. रसायन
 रसानाम ् रक्तादीनामयनमाप्यायनम ्.......। सु.सू 24/23
That which carries the rasa to the different parts of the body.
 रसायनम ् च तञेयम ् यत् जराव्याधि नाशनं।
 यथा अमृता रुदन्तत च गुगुलुश्च हरीतकी॥
 Those Dravyas which destroy Jara and vyadhi are
Rasayanas.

23. Examples of Rasayana Dravya

25. ***********************************************************************

26. Drugs with property similar to
Rasayanas

30. Some Ayurvedic
Immunomodulators **

35. बलम्
 It is another important Ayurvedic concept similar to immunity.
 It is derived from Ojas.
 It is not a dravya but is a bhava.
 It is divided into 3 : Sahaja (congenital),
Kalaja(Seasonal/According to Age), yukthija(acquired).
 Out of these,Sahaja type resembles innate immunity and
yukthija resembles acquired immunity.

36. ओजः
 ओजस ् तु तेजो िातूनाम ् शुक्राततानाम ् परम ् स्मृतम।
 हृदयस्तम ् अपप व्यापप देहन्स्थतततनबतिनम ् ॥
 न्स्नग्िम ् सोमात्मकम ् शुध्दम ् ईषत् लोहहत पीतकम ् ।
 यत् नाशे तनयतम ् नाशे यन्स्मन् ततष्ठतत ततष्ठतत ॥
 तनष्पद्यतते यतो भावा पवपविा देहसश्रयाः ।

37. व्याधिक्षमत्वम्
 व्याधिक्षमत्वम ् व्याधिबलपवरोधित्वम ् व्यध्युत्पादप्रततबतिकत्वम ् इतत
यावत् ।
 न च सवााणि शरीराणि व्याधिक्षमत्वे समथाातन भवन्तत ।
- च.सू 28/7
 Vyadhikshamatva is the ayurvedic counter-part of passive
immunity , it is defined as the ability of the body to prevent
diseases and also its ability to not result in diseases even
when exposed to pathogens.
 Charaka acharya also mentions that vyadhikshamatva is not
the same for all bodies.

38. REFERENCE
 “ AN OVERVIEW ON IMMUNOMODULATION ” -
Priyanka Saroj, Mansi Verma, K. K. Jha, Manju pal ,
Journal of Advanced Scientific Research .
• **IMMUNOMODULATORS : A REVIEW OF STUDIES ON
INDIAN MEDICINAL PLANTS AND SYNTHETIC
PEPTIDES, PART 1 : MEDICINAL PLANTS – S.S
AGARWAL , V.K SINGH , PINSA pp 179 – 204,
1999.