Basic research on activating the intestinal immune function using ginger originated in Kochi

Research Project

Project/Area Number	16K16279
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Research Field	Eating habits
Research Institution	Kochi University
Principal Investigator	Iizuka Michiro 高知大学, 医学部附属病院, 薬剤師 (60711299)
Project Period (FY)	2016-04-01 – 2018-03-31
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 2017)
Budget Amount *help	¥2,340,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥540,000) Fiscal Year 2017: ¥1,170,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥270,000) Fiscal Year 2016: ¥1,170,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥270,000)
Keywords	ショウガ / 腸管免疫 / パイエル板 / IgA / CD4/CD8 / 機能性食品
Outline of Final Research Achievements	Regarding activation of intestinal immune function by ginger, investigation using animals' intestinal tract was carried out. After oral administration of 1% ginger powder to BALB/c mice for 2 weeks, Peyer's patches were excised from the small intestine, cell suspensions were prepared, primary culture was performed, and the concentration of immunoglobulin A (IgA) in the culture supernatant was measured. In addition, quantitative analysis of the immunocompetent cells isolated from Peyer's patch was performed. As a result, the production and secretion of IgA in Peyer's patches was enhanced by ginger and the CD4/CD8 ratio was increased, suggesting that intestinal immune function is activated by ginger.