{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,1]],"date-time":"2026-04-01T17:38:37Z","timestamp":1775065117413,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,2,17]],"date-time":"2022-02-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1645056000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"King Saud University, Researchers Supporting Project","award":["RSP-2021\/118"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["RSP-2021\/118"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Molecules"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Dietary food components have the ability to affect immune function; following absorption, specifically orally ingested dietary food containing lectins can systemically modulate the immune cells and affect the response to self- and co-administered food antigens. The mannose-binding lectins from garlic (Allium sativum agglutinins; ASAs) were identified as immunodulatory proteins in vitro. The objective of the present study was to assess the immunogenicity and adjuvanticity of garlic agglutinins and to evaluate whether they have adjuvant properties in vivo for a weak antigen ovalbumin (OVA). Garlic lectins (ASA I and ASA II) were administered by intranasal (50 days duration) and intradermal (14 days duration) routes, and the anti-lectin and anti-OVA immune (IgG) responses in the control and test groups of the BALB\/c mice were assessed for humoral immunogenicity. Lectins, co-administered with OVA, were examined for lectin-induced anti-OVA IgG response to assess their adjuvant properties. The splenic and thymic indices were evaluated as a measure of immunomodulatory functions. Intradermal administration of ASA I and ASA II had showed a four-fold and two-fold increase in anti-lectin IgG response, respectively, vs. the control on day 14. In the intranasal route, the increases were 3-fold and 2.4-fold for ASA I and ASA II, respectively, on day 50. No decrease in the body weights of animals was noticed; the increases in the spleen and thymus weights, as well as their indices, were significant in the lectin groups. In the adjuvanticity study by intranasal administration, ASA I co-administered with ovalbumin (OVA) induced a remarkable increase in anti-OVA IgG response (~six-fold; p &lt; 0.001) compared to the control, and ASA II induced a four-fold increase vs. the control on day 50. The results indicated that ASA was a potent immunogen which induced mucosal immunogenicity to the antigens that were administered intranasally in BALB\/c mice. The observations made of the in vivo study indicate that ASA I has the potential use as an oral and mucosal adjuvant to deliver candidate weak antigens. Further clinical studies in humans are required to confirm its applicability.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules27041375","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,2,17]],"date-time":"2022-02-17T20:25:45Z","timestamp":1645129545000},"page":"1375","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":15,"title":["Immunoadjuvant and Humoral Immune Responses of Garlic (Allium sativum L.) Lectins upon Systemic and Mucosal Administration in BALB\/c Mice"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"27","author":[{"given":"Shruthishree D.","family":"Padiyappa","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Food Allergy and Immunology Laboratory, Department of Studies in Food Technology, Davangere University, Shivagangotri, Davangere 577 007, India"},{"name":"Molecular Biomedicine Laboratory, Postgraduate Department of Biotechnology, Sahyadri Science College, Kuvempu University, Shivamogga 577 203, India"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hemavathi","family":"Avalappa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Food Allergy and Immunology Laboratory, Department of Studies in Food Technology, Davangere University, Shivagangotri, Davangere 577 007, India"},{"name":"Molecular Biomedicine Laboratory, Postgraduate Department of Biotechnology, Sahyadri Science College, Kuvempu University, Shivamogga 577 203, India"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Madhusudana","family":"Somegowda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Plant Biochemistry, University of Agriculture and Horticulture Science, Shivamogga 577 204, India"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8028-4714","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Shankarappa","family":"Sridhara","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Climate Resilient Agriculture, University of Agriculture and Horticulture Science, Shivamogga 577 204, India"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6842-1344","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yeldur P.","family":"Venkatesh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biochemistry and Nutrition, CSIR\u2013Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysuru 570 020, India"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Bettadatunga T.","family":"Prabhakar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Molecular Biomedicine Laboratory, Postgraduate Department of Biotechnology, Sahyadri Science College, Kuvempu University, Shivamogga 577 203, India"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Siddanakoppalu N.","family":"Pramod","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Food Allergy and Immunology Laboratory, Department of Studies in Food Technology, Davangere University, Shivagangotri, Davangere 577 007, India"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0622-1800","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mona S.","family":"Almujaydil","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Qassim University, Buraydah 51452, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Shadi","family":"Shokralla","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ashraf M. M.","family":"Abdelbacki","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Applied Studies and Community Service College, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4476-2408","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hosam O.","family":"Elansary","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Plant Production Department, College of Food & Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ahmed M.","family":"El-Sabrout","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Applied Entomology and Zoology, Faculty of Agriculture (EL-Shatby), Alexandria University, Alexandria 21545, Egypt"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7796-8480","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Eman A.","family":"Mahmoud","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Food Industries, Faculty of Agriculture, Damietta University, Damietta 34511, Egypt"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,2,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"107","DOI":"10.1016\/S0065-2296(08)00403-5","article-title":"Plant lectins","volume":"48","author":"Lannoo","year":"2008","journal-title":"Adv. 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