Abstract
The phagocytic activity of monocytes in the peripheral blood was examined in dogs administered with C-UP III, a mixture of plant polysaccharides. C-UP III was administered at doses of 0.01, 0.02 or 0.05g/kg/day for seven consecutive days, and phagocytic activity of monocytes was analyzed by the mean number of ingested latex beads (LB) and the percentage of monocytes that ingested LB. As a result, the phagocytic activities of monocytes were significantly elevated on day 7 after the start of administration in all groups. On day 21, the monocyte activity in dogs fed 0.02 and 0.05g/kg/day was still significantly higher than the initial levels; however, the 0.01g/kg/day group showed only an increased number of ingested LB, the percentage of LB ingested monocytes was not significantly higher. When C-UP III was administered at 8.3mg/kg twice a day for three days, the number of ingested LB was significantly elevated on days 3 and 7, while the percentage of monocytes that ingested LB was significantly elevated on days 2, 3 and 7. As a consequence phagocytic activity increased from day 3. There was no change in the body temperature of the dogs on days 0-2 before and 15, 30 and 45 min after C-UP III administration. The authors concluded that the enhanced phagocytic activity of monocytes was a result of C-UP III administration and not of elevated body temperature.
