A collaborative research group consisting of Professor Toshihiro Ito of the Department of Immunology, Nara Medical University, Professor Shinichi Kashino and Professor Yoko Matsumura of the Department of Health and Nutrition, Faculty of Health Sciences, Kio University, ingested persimmon tannin (persimmon astringent) extracted from persimmon with high purity. It was demonstrated in an animal model that this can improve the pathophysiology of ulcerative colitis.
Ulcerative colitis is an intractable disease designated by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, which causes chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract and is known as a disease of unknown cause that repeats remission and relapse.The number of patients has increased in recent years, and it is estimated to be about 20 in Japan, which is the largest number among designated intractable diseases.
Inflammatory bowel disease, including ulcerative colitis, is thought to occur when dysbiosis of the intestinal flora upsets the balance between activation and suppression of the immune system.Generally, medical treatment with drugs is performed, but since drug therapy may not be effective, the development of new preventive methods and therapeutic drugs has been strongly desired.
On the other hand, persimmon tannin extracted from persimmon has been used as persimmon astringent for insect repellent, waterproofing, and dyeing for a long time, but in recent years, it has various actions such as antibacterial action, antiviral action, anti-inflammatory action, and antioxidant action. It has become clear.The group conceived that persimmon tannins are fermented in the environment of the large intestine and exhibit antioxidant activity, which may suppress inflammation of the large intestine such as ulcerative colitis.
By feeding mice a diet containing persimmon tannin extracted from persimmon fruit with high purity, the growth of bad bacteria in the intestine and dysbiosis, which increase in ulcerative colitis, are suppressed, and immune system cells are activated. I also found that it can be suppressed.As a result, it was demonstrated that persimmon tannin significantly reduced the disease activity and inflammation of ulcerative colitis model mice.
It has been suggested that persimmon astringency is effective in the prevention and treatment of ulcerative colitis and the maintenance of remission, and it can be said that this is a result with great expectations for future application.
