Background:

Within 4-5 hours after injection of carrageenan into the pleural cavity, there is an influx of neutrophils. This migration is inhibited by the use of anti-inflammatory medications such as aspirin or indomethacin.

 

Study Design:

Three femal rats per sample of egg are injected into the pleural cavity with 2 ml of 1% carrageenan to induce migration of neutrophils. In parallel, these animals are injected in their peritoneal cavity with the appropriate dose of immune egg powder supernatant, or with physiological saline (control). Four hours post-challenge, rats are sacrificed, and 50 µl of exudate containing leukocytic infiltrates are removed and the number of cells contained in an aliquo are recorded.

 

Results:

Injection of carrageenan into the pleural cavity elicits the migration of approximately 80-95 leukocytes/0.05 sq. mm. In two separate experiments, injection of carrageenan in parallel with injections of conventional egg supernatants, elicited migrations of 60-80 leukocytes/0.05 sq. mm. In comparison, injection of increasing doses of immune egg supernatants results 20-55 neutrophils/0.5 mm migrating into the site.