Highly heated food rich in Maillard reaction products limit an experimental colitis in mice

Maillard reaction products (MRPs) are a mixture of compounds generated after the heat treatment of food. High circulating levels of MRPs have been associated with degenerative pathologies such as diabetes, but little is known about their effect on the gut, the main organ in contact with food-derived MRPs. This study was aimed at determining whether repeated low-level exposure to MRPs, generated via two different heat treatments, can contribute to the modulation of experimental colitis in mice. In the first series of experiments, we tested whether pellets rich in MRPs would increase plasmatic and faecal concentration of MRPs. In the second series, we assessed whether two levels of pellet-derived MRPs would be able to modulate chemically-induced inflammation and affect tissue healing. The ingestion of MRPs correlates with the increase of its plasmatic and faecal concentration. Highly treated pellets were proved to significantly protect against inflammation whereas standard or moderately heated pellets had no effect on the inflammatory course. The chemical analysis of the different pellets indicated that high heating generates more melanoidins. There is a correlation between the exposure to highly heated foods and the reduction of murine inflammation, of which the mechanisms remain to be elucidated.