Calder P C, Albers R, Antoine J-M, Blum S, Bourdet-Sicard R, Ferns G A, Folkerts G, Friedmann P S, Frost G S, Guarner F, Løvik M, Macfarlane S, Meyer P D, M'Rabet L, Serafini M, van Eden W, van Loo J, Vas Dias W, Vidry S, Winklhofer-Roob B M, Zhao J
School of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK.
Br J Nutr. 2009 May;101 Suppl 1:S1-45. doi: 10.1017/S0007114509377867.
Inflammation is a stereotypical physiological response to infections and tissue injury; it initiates pathogen killing as well as tissue repair processes and helps to restore homeostasis at infected or damaged sites. Acute inflammatory reactions are usually self-limiting and resolve rapidly, due to the involvement of negative feedback mechanisms. Thus, regulated inflammatory responses are essential to remain healthy and maintain homeostasis. However, inflammatory responses that fail to regulate themselves can become chronic and contribute to the perpetuation and progression of disease. Characteristics typical of chronic inflammatory responses underlying the pathophysiology of several disorders include loss of barrier function, responsiveness to a normally benign stimulus, infiltration of inflammatory cells into compartments where they are not normally found in such high numbers, and overproduction of oxidants, cytokines, chemokines, eicosanoids and matrix metalloproteinases. The levels of these mediators amplify the inflammatory response, are destructive and contribute to the clinical symptoms. Various dietary components including long chain omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidant vitamins, plant flavonoids, prebiotics and probiotics have the potential to modulate predisposition to chronic inflammatory conditions and may have a role in their therapy. These components act through a variety of mechanisms including decreasing inflammatory mediator production through effects on cell signaling and gene expression (omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin E, plant flavonoids), reducing the production of damaging oxidants (vitamin E and other antioxidants), and promoting gut barrier function and anti-inflammatory responses (prebiotics and probiotics). However, in general really strong evidence of benefit to human health through anti-inflammatory actions is lacking for most of these dietary components. Thus, further studies addressing efficacy in humans linked to studies providing greater understanding of the mechanisms of action involved are required.
炎症是对感染和组织损伤的一种典型生理反应；它启动病原体杀伤以及组织修复过程，并有助于在感染或受损部位恢复内环境稳态。由于负反馈机制的参与，急性炎症反应通常是自限性的，且迅速消退。因此，受调控的炎症反应对于保持健康和维持内环境稳态至关重要。然而，无法自我调节的炎症反应可能会变为慢性，并导致疾病的持续和进展。几种疾病病理生理学基础的慢性炎症反应的典型特征包括屏障功能丧失、对正常良性刺激的反应性、炎症细胞浸润到通常不会大量出现的区域，以及氧化剂、细胞因子、趋化因子、类二十烷酸和基质金属蛋白酶的过度产生。这些介质的水平会放大炎症反应，具有破坏性，并导致临床症状。包括长链ω-3脂肪酸、抗氧化维生素、植物类黄酮、益生元和益生菌在内的各种饮食成分有可能调节对慢性炎症状态的易感性，并可能在其治疗中发挥作用。这些成分通过多种机制起作用，包括通过影响细胞信号传导和基因表达来减少炎症介质的产生（ω-3脂肪酸、维生素E、植物类黄酮）、减少破坏性氧化剂的产生（维生素E和其他抗氧化剂），以及促进肠道屏障功能和抗炎反应（益生元和益生菌）。然而，总体而言，对于大多数这些饮食成分，缺乏通过抗炎作用对人类健康有益的确凿证据。因此，需要进一步开展针对人类疗效的研究，并结合能更深入了解相关作用机制的研究。
