Innate and adaptive immune responses, key to appropriate defense against diseases differ in their development dynamics and are both influenced by raising technologies in bovine. This study aimed to identify the differences in activity of plant extracts on neutrophile phagocytic function and blast transformation of lymphocytes/monocytes from bovine raised in extensive and semiintensive systems. Blood samples from dairy cows raised extensively and semi-intensively were subjected to in vitro

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... g for their phagocytic activity (carbon particle inclusion test) and blast transformation capacity (glucose consumption test). Alcoholic extracts of medicinal plants were used as potential stimulating agents. Stimulation indices (%) were calculated as compared to a glucose control. Minitab 16.0 was used for statistical interpretation. The phagocytosis was highly enhanced by the Silybum marianum L. (Gaernet.) extract in semiintensively raised (0.023 ± 0.04) when compared to the extensively raised cows (0.160 ± 0.069). The S. marianum extract enhanced lymphocyte/monocyte growth more in extensively (55.22 ± 11.10 %) than in the semi-intensively raised animals (50.56 ± 9.82 %), with significant differences when compared to the other extracts (p<0.0002). All the used plant extracts acted inhibiting in the blast transformation test, but to a lesser extent in semi-intensively raised animals. Correlation coefficients between the phagocytosis and blast transformation in the presence of S. marianum extract were non-significant. The immune effects of various plant extracts were dependent on cell type (small phagocytes or lymphocytes/monocytes) and also on the raising system, allowing the choice of immune modulating compounds in dairy cows.