Division of Nutrition and Lipid Metabolism Disorders, Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Int Arch Allergy Immunol. 2012;157(2):113-24. doi: 10.1159/000329137. Epub 2011 Oct 5.
A significant increase in the incidence of allergy and asthma has been observed during the past decades. The background of this phenomenon has not been well explained, but changes in lifestyle and habits are heavily discussed as contributing factors. Among these is a too clean environment, which may predispose individuals to increased sensitivity to allergic responses. Also the increase in dietary supplements including preservatives and colorants may contribute to this. In vitro, we and others have shown in freshly isolated human peripheral blood mononuclear cells that antioxidant compounds like vitamins C and E as well as food preservatives and colorants exert significant suppressive effects on the Th1 immune activation cascade. The effects observed may be based on the interaction of antioxidant compounds with proinflammatory cascades involving important signal transduction elements such as nuclear factor-κB. Although only obtained in vitro, these results show an anti-inflammatory property of compounds which could shift the Th1-Th2-type immune balance towards Th2-type immunity. This review article discusses the potential role of increased use of antioxidant food supplements as well as preservatives and colorants in the increase in allergy and asthma in the Western world.
在过去几十年中，过敏和哮喘的发病率显著增加。尽管这种现象的背景尚未得到很好的解释，但生活方式和习惯的改变被认为是一个重要的影响因素。其中，过于干净的环境可能使个体更容易对过敏反应产生敏感性。此外，膳食补充剂（包括防腐剂和色素）的增加也可能是一个原因。在体外，我们和其他人已经在新鲜分离的人外周血单核细胞中表明，抗氧化化合物，如维生素 C 和 E 以及食品防腐剂和色素，对 Th1 免疫激活级联具有显著的抑制作用。观察到的作用可能基于抗氧化化合物与涉及重要信号转导元件（如核因子-κB）的促炎级联的相互作用。尽管这些结果仅在体外获得，但它们表明抗氧化化合物具有抗炎特性，可能使 Th1-Th2 型免疫平衡向 Th2 型免疫转移。这篇综述文章讨论了西方世界中抗氧化食品补充剂以及防腐剂和色素使用增加与过敏和哮喘之间的潜在联系。
