Immune responses following cocktails of inactivated measles vaccine and Arachis hypogaea L. (groundnut) or Cocos nucifera L. (coconut) oils adjuvant.

Haemagglutination inhibition (HAI), geometric mean titre (GMT) and lymphocyte transformation test (LTT) were measured following inoculation of Erythrocebus patas with inactivated measles vaccine (IMV) and oils of Arachis hypogaea L (GO), Cocos nucifera L (CO), Freund's complete and incomplete adjuvants (FCA, FIA). The GMT of HAI were: GO + IMV = 8.50 +/- 4.15: CO + IMV = 8.08 +/- 4.03; FCA + IMV = 7.67 +/- 4.08. FIA + IMV = 7.08 +/- 4.08 compared with controls of live measles vaccine (LMV) = 7.33 +/- 4.33 and IMV = 4.33 +/- 4.56. The mean stimulation ratio (SR) of lymphocyte transformation data were: GO + IMV = 109 69; CO + IMV = 58.47; FCA + IMV = 55.81. FIA + IMV = 55.48; LMV = 94.73; IMV = 55.64. The results when compared by a two-way multiple pairwise comparison of Tuskey's procedure at alpha = 0.05 showed that HAI antibody titres were not significantly different in all the groups under investigation. The lymphocyte transformation data for GO + IMV and LMV were identical but significantly different from the other groups. The study suggests that the oils under investigation, particularly the GO oil should be considered as an adjuvant with IMV after extensive study in humans; since it stimulated cellular immune response comparable to that of LMV. This is a promising alternative to the use of LMV in the tropical developing countries with poor storage facilities.