Exploration of components that may stimulate innate immune responses in traditional fermented products

2012 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24658126
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Food science
• Research Institution: Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine
• Principal Investigator: OHGITANI Eriko 京都府立医科大学, 大学院・医学研究科, 助教 (80300820)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): MAZDA Osam 京都府立医科大学, 医学研究科, 教授 (00271164) ; SATO Kenji 京都府立大学, 生命環境科学研究科, 教授 (00202094)
• Project Period (FY): 2012
• Keywords: 食品機能

Research Abstract

The study aims at exploring components that stimulate innate immune response in Nukadoko, salted rice bran paste for pickling. Nukadoko was extracted with water and fractionated into some fractions. The residue was subsequently extracted with ethanol. Mice were orally given the extracts, followed by infection with pneumococcus. The survival rate of pneumococcal infected mice increased from 30% to 50% by oraladministration of the water extract, while the survival rate was not improved by the administration of ethanol extract. An addition of the extracts to cell culturedemonstrated that some fractions had the following activities, 1) Enhancement ofphagocytosis of MH-S (a murine alveolar macrophage cell line), 2) Induction of TNF-α, IL-1 β, and IL-12 in MH-S, 3) Elevation of TLR3 and MARCO gene expression in MH-S, 4) Inhibition of influenza virus amplification in A549 (an adenocarcinomic human alveolar basal epithelial cell line), 5) Direct anti-pneumococcal effect. These results suggest that the Nukadoko may include some component that may enhance innate immune response and suppress pneumococcal infection.