The effect of Sambucol, a black elderberry-based, natural product, on the production of human cytokines: I. Inflammatory cytokines

Eur Cytokine Netw (2001)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11399518/
- Evaluated commercially-produced Sambucol (made from S. nigra)
- Observed that peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) produced higher levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL1β, IL6, IL8 and TNF) after stimulation with Sambucol
- Cytokine production was dose-dependent
- Authors hypothesized that elderberry use could be beneficial for healthy people possibly using immunotherapy
- Not clear why authors did not show p-values to statistically support their claims of “higher levels”. This is important because while there be a difference in values, these differences could be due to chance alone and/or the difference may not be meaningful when considering the full range of possible values. Immunological studies like these generally report statistics. Studies need to be interpreted with caution when statistical tests are not provided.
Keywords: cytokine response