A combination of proteins and antioxidants doubles the anti-inflammatory properties in immune cells, according to a new paper published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
Antioxidants known as polyphenols are found in humans, plants, fruits and vegetables.
This group of antioxidants is also used by the food industry to slow the oxidation and deterioration of food quality and thereby avoid off flavors and rancidity.
Polyphenols are also known to be healthy for humans, as they help reduce oxidative stress in the body that gives rise to inflammation.
In the new study, University of Copenhagen’s Professor Marianne Nissen Lund and colleagues investigated how polyphenols behave when combined with amino acids, the building blocks of proteins.
“In the study, we show that as a polyphenol reacts with an amino acid, its inhibitory effect on inflammation in immune cells is enhanced,” Professor Nissen Lund said.
“As such, it is clearly imaginable that this cocktail could also have a beneficial effect on inflammation in humans.”
“We will now investigate further, initially in animals. After that, we hope to receive research funding which will allow us to study the effect in humans.”
To investigate the anti-inflammatory effect of a combination of polyphenols and proteins, the researchers applied artificial inflammation to immune cells.
Some of the cells received various doses of polyphenols that had reacted with an amino acid, while others only received polyphenols in the same doses. A control group received nothing.
The authors observed that immune cells treated with the combination of polyphenols and amino acids were twice as effective at fighting inflammation as the cells to which only polyphenols were added.
“It is interesting to have now observed the anti-inflammatory effect in cell experiments,” said University of Copenhagen’s Dr. Andrew Williams.
“And obviously, this has only made us more interested in understanding these health…
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