IMMUNOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF BASILS GROWN IN AQUAPONICS ON VERTEBRATE (MICE AND FISH) SPLEEN CELLS IN VITRO

Experiments were conducted to investigate  the  immunological effects of two species of basils (Holy basil and Thai b asil) grown in aquaponics system on the proliferation of spleen cells of fish and mice  in-vitro.  It was hypothesize d that  proliferation  of  spleen cells  would be greater due to Holy basil extracts compared to the Thai basil extracts, since Holy b asil has been known for its traditional medicinal effects.  Basil leaf extracts were prepared at different dilutions (1:1, 1:5,  1:25, and 1:125) and were tested with and without Concanavalin -A (Con-A: a Phyto-mitogen) on the spleen cells of mice and fish (tilapia). Holy basil without Con- A showed more proliferation of spleen cells than Thai basil without Con- A of all dilutions in mice (P<0.05) .  On the other hand, in fish, Holy basils at dilutions 1:1 and 1:25 showed an increased spleen cell proliferation (P<0.05 for 1:25 only) compared to Thai basil at those dilutions only . The apparent results proved our hypothesis and showed that Holy basil extracts have prominent effects , compared to Thai basil,  on the proliferation of  spleen cells in-vitro for both mice and fish.