Hoe bioactieve stoffen ontstekingen tegen gaan*
Van veel bioactieve stoffen in de voeding is bekend dat ze ontstekingen kunnen tegengaan. Verschillende ontstekingen kunnen op termijn leiden tot o.m. kanker, hart- en vaatziekte en diabetes. Amerikaanse onderzoekers hebben nu onderzocht hoe die bioactieve stoffen dat doen en hebben in ieder geval al een paar werkingen gevonden. De bioactieve stoffen,
luteoline, quercetine, chrysine een stof in de
passiebloem, eriodictyol een bittere stof in bijv.
rozenbottel, hesperidine en
naringenine werden onderzocht. Tegen ontstekingen bleek de stof luteoline duidelijk de beste te zijn. De bioactieve stoffen blokkeren de werking van het enzym TBK1. Dat enzym is nodig om ontstekingsreacties te kunnen beginnen.
Study Of Healthful Plant Compounds
Natural compounds in plants may protect us against unwanted inflammation. However, human nutrition researchers agree that many questions remain about exactly how these compounds, known as phytochemicals, do
that.
Studies led by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) molecular biologist Daniel H. Hwang are providing some of the missing details.
Certain kinds of inflammation can increase risk of cancer and of some other disorders, including heart disease and insulin resistance, according to Hwang. He's with the ARS Western Human Nutrition Research Center at the University of California-Davis.
Some of Hwang's on-going studies build upon earlier research in which he and colleagues teased out precise details of how six natural compounds in plants - luteolin, quercetin, chrysin, eriodicytol, hesperetin, and naringenin - apparently act as anti-inflammatory agents.
Luteolin is found in celery, thyme, green peppers, and chamomile tea. Foods rich in quercetin include capers, apples, and onions. Chrysin is from the fruit of blue passionflower, a tropical vine. Oranges, grapefruit, lemons, and other citrus fruits are good sources of eriodicytol, hesperetin, and naringenin.
Hwang's team showed, for the first time, that all six plant compounds target an enzyme known as "TBK1." Each compound inhibits, to a greater or lesser extent, TBK1's ability to activate a specific biochemical signal. If unimpeded, the signal would lead to formation of gene products known to trigger
inflammation.
Of the six compounds, luteolin was the most effective inhibitor of TBK1. Luteolin is already known to have anti-inflammatory properties. However, Hwang and his colleagues were the first to provide this new, mechanistic explanation of how luteolin exerts its anti-inflammatory
effects.
The approaches that the researchers developed to uncover these compounds' effects can be used by scientists elsewhere to identify additional anti-inflammatory compounds present in fruits and vegetables.
Their findings on phytochemicals that act as TBK1 inhibitors appear in Biochemical Pharmacology and in the Journal of Immunology.
Source:
Marcia Wood
United States Department of Agriculture-Research, Education, and Economics (Oktober 2010)
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