丽江山荆子表儿茶素抗辣木叶蛋白过敏作用

Anti-allergic Effects of Malus rockii Rehd-derived Epicatechin against the Proteins from Moringa oleifera Leaves

摘要:

为探讨丽江山荆子表儿茶素（Epicatechin，EC）抗辣木叶粗蛋白（Moringa oleifera leaf protein，MOpA）诱导的过敏作用，利用小鼠进行食物过敏反应试验，观察小鼠的过敏症状，测定其体质量、胸腺指数和脾脏指数；检测小鼠血清中组胺（Histamine，HIS）、白细胞介素-4（Interleukin，IL-4）、肿瘤坏死因子-α（Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha，TNF-α）质量浓度。苏木精-伊红染色法（Hematoxylin-Eosin Staining，HE）观察小鼠空肠组织病理变化的影响。结果发现，用MOpA激发后，MC组小鼠脾脏指数显著高于NC组（P<0.01），胸腺指数相较于EC组差异明显（P<0.05）；EC组相较于MC组小鼠血清中的HIS含量降低了3.99×103 ng/L（P<0.01），TNF-α含量升高了97.33×103 pg/L（P<0.01），IL-4含量降低了6.22×103 pg/L（P<0.05）；HE染色发现，MC组出现肠绒毛断裂及萎缩现象；EC组病理现象不明显。EC能够通过保护肠道黏膜屏障和在一定程度上抑制炎症来改善MOpA诱导的过敏小鼠的症状。该研究表明MOpA和卵清蛋白、牛乳蛋白和花生蛋白等过敏原一样具有潜在的致敏性；EC可能是一种有效的食物来源的免疫调节剂，用于治疗食物过敏。

Abstract:

The anti-allergic effects of epicatechin (EC) derived from Malus rockii Rehd against reactions induced by the crude proteins of Moringa oleifera leaves (MOpA) were analyzed via anaphylaxis testing in a mouse model. The allergic symptoms of mice were observed and body mass, thymus index, and spleen index were measured. Meanwhile, the concentrations of histamine (HIS), interleukin-4 (IL-4), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were detected in mouse serum. Additionally, the pathological changes in the jejunum were examined via hematoxylin-eosin staining (H&E). The results showed that, following MOpA stimulation, the spleen index of the MC group was significantly higher than that of the NC group (P<0.01), and the thymus index differed significantly from that of the EC group (P<0.05). However, following treatment with epicatechin, the serum HIS content of the EC group decreased by 3.99×103 ng/L (P<0.01), whereas the TNF-α increased level by 97.33×103 pg/L (P<0.01) compared with those of the MC group. Furthermore, the IL-4 content decreased by 6.22×103 pg/L (P<0.05) in the EC group compared with the MC group. HE staining further revealed intestinal villi damage and atrophy in the MC group, whereas pathological changes were not apparent in the EC group. In summary, MOpA was found to elicit the same level of potential allergenicity as ovalbumin, milk protein, and peanut protein, whereas EC effectively ameliorated the allergic symptoms of MOpA-induced food allergy in mice by protecting the intestinal mucosal barrier and reducing inflammation. The findings of this study suggest that EC could serve as an effective food-derived immune regulator for the treatment of food allergies.