REVIEW Traditional Medicine Research 2022;7(5):42. https://doi.org/10.53388/TMR20220929001 1 Submit a manuscript: https://www.tmrjournals.com/tmr G1-4A, an arabinogalactan polysaccharide derived from Tinospora cordifolia (Thunb.) Miers: a natural immunomodulator Sarita Das 1* 1 Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Botany, Berhampur University, Berhampur 760007, India. * Corresponding to: Sarita Das, Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Botany, Berhampur University, Bhanja Bihar, Berhampur 760007, Odisha, India. E-mail: saritadas7@yahoo.com; mohap003@gmail.com. Author contributions Sarita Das collected, analyzed the research literature, drafted the paper and prepared the artwork. The author has read and approved the final version of the manuscript. Competing interests The author declares no conflicts of interest. Acknowledgments The author expresses her sincere gratitude to all the researchers and publishers, whose valuable work is cited in this review. Abbreviations T. cordifolia, Tinospora cordifolia (Thunb.) Miers; G1-4A, 1,4-linked arabinogalactan polysaccharide; ROS, reactive oxygen species; TNF, tumor necrosis factor; IFN, interferon; IL, interleukin; NK, natural killer; BMDC, bone marrow derived dendritic cells; MHC, major histocompatibility complex; NO, nitric oxide; NOS, nitric oxide synthase; TLR, toll-like receptor; MyD88, myeloid differentiation primary response 88; NF-κB, nuclear factor-kappa B. Peer review information Traditional Medicine Research thanks all anonymous reviewers for their contribution to the peer review of this paper. Citation Das S. G1-4A, an arabinogalactan polysaccharide derived from Tinospora cordifolia (Thunb.) Miers: a natural immunomodulator. Tradit Med Res. 2022;7(5):42. doi: 10.53388/TMR20220929001. Executive editor: Shan-Shan Lin. Received: 29 September 2021; Accepted: 11 May 2022; Available online: 18 May 2022. © 2022 By Author(s). Published by TMR Publishing Group Limited. This is an open access article under the CC-BY license. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/BY/4.0/) Abstract The whole world has been challenged by the COVID-19, where people with poor immune status became the target. It is high time for us to strengthen our immunity through some safe, efficient and cost-effective immune boosters. Tinospora cordifolia (Thunb.) Miers is a well-known medicinal plant as the whole plant (leaves, stems and roots) is used extensively for different ailments, since it is rich in many bioactive secondary metabolites. The immunomodulatory efficacy of Tinospora cordifolia was reported by several workers and this plant is considered to be a “Rasayana” herb in Ayurveda because of its potential cell renewal, health re-establishment and physical equilibrium maintenance capabilities. 1,4-Linked arabinogalactan polysaccharide (G1-4A), an acidic polysaccharide and arabinogalactan polymer is reported to strengthen host innate immunity by multifactorial pathways. It induces immune cells (neutrophil, macrophage, T lymphocyte) proliferation and increases cytokine/chemokine production and reactive oxygen species generation thereby contributing to boost our immunity. G1-4A activates macrophages by a classical pathway in toll-like receptor 4 – myeloid differentiation primary response 88 dependent manner, natural killer cells and cytotoxic T cells to destroy pathogens, virus-infected cells, or tumor cells. Binding of G1-4A to the toll-like receptor or mannose receptor activates a cascade of events along with nuclear translocation of nuclear factor-kappa B leading to the synthesis of different cytokine/chemokine and reactive oxygen species generation. Natural immunomodulators like G1-4A are safer and cheaper, when extracted from botanical sources. Therefore, such phytocompounds can be taken as a daily supplement to enhance immunity, which might be beneficial to fight and survive in this ongoing pandemic health crisis. Keywords: arabinogalactan polysaccharides; 1,4-linked arabinogalactan polysaccharide; immunomodulation; macrophage; Tinospora cordifolia