Asthma is an allergic lung inflammation characterised by the influx of eosinophils at the infected site recruited by the chemokine, CCL11. During inflammation, the transcription factor Nuclear Factor kappa B (NF-κB) initiates a series of pro-inflammatory responses. Natural compounds that could modulate CCL11 levels and/or NF-κB activation have potential for managing lung inflammation. In this study, four varieties of kiwifruit were evaluated for their modulatory effect on inflammation signals. The anthocyanin-enriched polyphenol extracts from purple kiwifruit inhibited CCL11 secretion from human alveolar epithelial cells whereas the anthocyanin-lacking polyphenol extracts from yellow kiwifruit displayed no inhibition on CCL11 secretion. Kiwifruit polyphenol extracts also inhibited NF-κB activation in reporter cells. Correlation analysis showed anthocyanins in the kiwifruit polyphenolic extracts were most correlated to the modulation of CCL11 and NF-κB which are the inflammatory signals involved in lung allergic inflammation. The findings highlight the enhanced functional food benefits of novel kiwifruit cultivars.

哮喘是一种过敏性肺部炎症，其特征是趋化因子CCL11募集的感染部位嗜酸性粒细胞大量涌入。在发炎期间，转录因子核因子κB（NF-κB）引发一系列促炎反应。可以调节CCL11水平和/或NF-κB活化的天然化合物具有控制肺部炎症的潜力。在这项研究中，评估了四种猕猴桃对炎症信号的调节作用。紫色奇异果中富含花青素的多酚提取物抑制了人肺泡上皮细胞的CCL11分泌，而黄色奇异果中缺乏花青素的多酚提取物未显示对CCL11分泌的抑制作用。奇异果多酚提取物还抑制报告细胞中的NF-κB活化。相关分析表明，奇异果多酚提取物中的花色苷与CCL11和NF-κB的调节最相关，而CCL11和NF-κB是参与肺部过敏性炎症的炎症信号。这些发现突出了新型奇异果品种在功能性食品方面的益处。