Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences "Rodolfo Paoletti" (DiSFeB), Università degli Studi di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy.
Consorzio Castanicoltori di Brinzio, Orino e Castello Cabiaglio, Società Cooperativa Agricola-Varese, 21100 Varese, Italy.
Molecules. 2024 Aug 21;29(16):3951. doi: 10.3390/molecules29163951.
Mill. () processing and pruning generate several by-products, including leaves, burs, and shells (inner and outer teguments), which are considered an important source of high-value phytochemicals. Ellagitannins from leaf extracts have been described to impair viability and inflammation in gastric cells. Furthermore, chestnut shells showed an important anti-inflammatory effect in gastric epithelial cells. Dietary polyphenols, including tannins, have been reported to interfere with targets of inflammation, including the nuclear factor κB (NF-κB). A promising role as a further therapeutical target for gut disorders has been recently proposed for the regulatory subunit of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF-1α), as a potential stabilizer of intestinal barrier integrity. Therefore, the main objective of this work is the chemical characterization of several chestnut by-products (bud, spiny bur, wood, pericarp and episperm), together with the exploitation of their anti-inflammatory properties in intestinal cells, scavenging capacity, and stability following gastrointestinal digestion. The chemical characterization confirmed the presence of bioactive polyphenols in the extracts, including ellagitannins. In CaCo-2 cells stimulated by an IL-1β-IFN-γ cocktail, nearly all chestnut by-products (50 µg/mL) inhibited the release of proinflammatory mediators (CXCL-10, IL-8, MCP-1, ICAM), along with the NF-κB-driven transcription, and induced the HRE-driven transcription. The stability of the most promising extracts, identified through PCA and cluster analysis, was addressed by in vitro gastrointestinal digestion. Despite the significant reduction in total polyphenol index of chestnut bud and wood after gastric and intestinal digestion, the activity of these extracts on both scavenging and anti-inflammatory parameters remained promising. These data contribute to exploit the potential of chestnut by-products as sources of dietary polyphenols with anti-inflammatory properties at the intestinal level. Moreover, this study could represent an important step to encourage the recycling and valorization of chestnut by-products, promoting the circular economy and reducing the environmental impact related to the management of agriculture waste.
栗属植物（）的加工和修剪会产生几种副产品，包括叶子、刺和壳（内外种皮），这些副产品被认为是高价值植物化学物质的重要来源。已描述从栗叶提取物中的鞣花单宁会损害胃细胞的活力和炎症。此外，栗壳在胃上皮细胞中表现出重要的抗炎作用。膳食多酚，包括单宁，已被报道可干扰炎症靶点，包括核因子 κB（NF-κB）。最近，缺氧诱导因子（HIF-1α）的调节亚基作为肠道紊乱的进一步治疗靶点的作用前景已被提出，因为它可能稳定肠道屏障的完整性。因此，这项工作的主要目的是对几种栗属植物副产品（芽、刺苞、木材、果皮和种皮）进行化学表征，并利用其在肠道细胞中的抗炎特性、清除能力以及在胃肠道消化后的稳定性。化学表征证实了提取物中存在生物活性多酚，包括鞣花单宁。在 IL-1β-IFN-γ 鸡尾酒刺激的 CaCo-2 细胞中，几乎所有栗属植物副产品（50μg/mL）均抑制促炎介质（CXCL-10、IL-8、MCP-1、ICAM）的释放，同时抑制 NF-κB 驱动的转录，并诱导 HRE 驱动的转录。通过 PCA 和聚类分析确定的最有前途的提取物的稳定性通过体外胃肠道消化进行了研究。尽管栗属植物芽和木材在胃和肠道消化后总多酚指数显著降低，但这些提取物在清除和抗炎参数方面的活性仍然很有前景。这些数据有助于利用栗属植物副产品作为具有抗炎特性的膳食多酚的来源，在肠道水平发挥作用。此外，这项研究可以作为鼓励栗属植物副产品回收和增值的重要一步，促进循环经济并减少与农业废弃物管理相关的环境影响。
