That would seem to be the case in light of recent work by American scientists who studied the effects of polyphenolic compounds taken from apple peels upon regulation of intestinal inflammation. For their study, these researchers used an experimental model of chemically induced colitis in laboratory mice. They injected i.v. either a placebo or varying doses of apple polyphenols into different mouse groups before and during development of colitis. Their results showed that mice given polyphenols developed much less severe colitis, or even showed no symptoms at all. The researchers next identified the cell target of these polyphenols. It is a particular cell type implicated in immune defenses and is abnormally hyperactive in IBD: the T lymphocyte. In mice that were genetically engineered so as not to possess these cells, the polyphenols were no longer capable of regulating inflammation, thereby demonstrating that these molecules protect against gut inflammation via control of lymphocyte T activity.
Recently, two other studies published in the prestigious journals Science and Cell also demonstrated a very strong link between phytonutriments present in cruciferous plants (cabbage, brussel sprouts, broccoli, etc.) and normal development of the gut immune system. Those two works characterized the molecular target of these vegetables in the intestine (a protein referred to as Ahr, for aryl hydrocarbon receptor), thereby identifying a promising therapeutic target for control of the gut inflammatory response in patients with IBD.
References :
•Apple polyphenols require T cells to ameliorate dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis and dampen proinflammatory cytokine expression. Skyberg, JA et al. Journal of leukocyte biology, December 2011, Volume 90 ; 1043-1054
•Natural aryl hydrocarbon receptor ligands control organogenesis of intestinal lymphoid follicles. Kiss, EA et al. Science 27 oct 2011
•Exogenous stimuli maintain intraepithelial lymphocytes via aryl hydrocarbon receptor activation. Li, Y et al. Cell 147. 629-640 (2011)
