Extract of temu ireng (Curcuma aeruginosa Roxb.) rhizome reduces doxorubicin-induced immunosuppressive effects

Doxorubicin is a chemotherapy drug, which has been widely approved and sufficient to suppress cancer cell growth. However, it also possesses a side effect regarding the immune system suppression. The rhizome of temu ireng (Curcuma aeruginosa Roxb.) contains various monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes compounds, which have been proven to exert immunostimulating activity. This research aims to explore the potency of temu ireng rhizome as an immunostimulating agent after immune suppression following doxorubicin treatment. Temu ireng extract (TIE) was obtained by steam distillation. The IC₅₀ value of doxorubicin-based on a cell viability assay on primary lymphocytes isolated from mice was 2 µM, while TIE at the concentration of 10 µg · mL⁻¹ to 50 µg · mL⁻¹ increased the cell viability. Combination of doxorubicin and TIE significantly increased the cell viability compared to doxorubicin-treated and untreated cells. Flow cytometry analysis showed that TIE at a concentration of 10 µg · mL⁻¹ was able to increase the percentage of CD⁴⁺ and CD⁸⁺ cells compared to untreated cells. Molecular docking examination showed that the docking score of curdione, a major compound of TIE, to CD95 was lower than the native ligand. It can be concluded that TIE is potential to be developed as an immunostimulating agent to counter the immune system suppression induced by doxorubicin.