Anti-Inflammatory Substances in Wheat Malt Inducing Antisecretory Factor

Area of Science:

• Gastroenterology
• Immunology
• Nutritional Science

Background:

• Malted cereals are known to benefit inflammatory bowel diseases and enterotoxic diarrhea.
• This protective effect is linked to antisecretory factor (AF), a protein complex.
• Identifying specific compounds in malt that induce AF is crucial for understanding this mechanism.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify anti-inflammatory substances in malt.
• To investigate the capacity of these substances to induce antisecretory factor (AF).
• To explore the role of transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) in AF induction and anti-inflammatory activity.

Main Methods:

• Assayed anti-inflammatory effects of malt-derived phenols in mouse models (footpad and paw edema).
• Measured nitric oxide production in RAW 264.7 cells treated with phenols.
• Assessed proteasome activity and AF induction in rat blood.
• Utilized TRPV1 antagonist capsazepine to investigate pathway involvement.

Main Results:

• Guaiacol and quercetin demonstrated anti-inflammatory effects in vivo.
• Catechin, sinapic acid, ferulic acid, and quercetin reduced nitric oxide formation.
• Vanillic acid and quercetin inhibited proteasome activity.
• Catechin, ferulic acid, and sinapic acid induced AF in rat blood and were elevated in malt.
• Capsazepine inhibited inflammation and nitric oxide formation, suggesting TRPV1 involvement.

Conclusions:

• Specific phenols in malt, including catechin, ferulic acid, and sinapic acid, possess anti-inflammatory properties and induce AF.
• These phenols, increased in malted cereals, likely contribute to their therapeutic effects on inflammatory conditions.
• The transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) pathway may mediate the anti-inflammatory actions of these phenols through AF induction.