title: Effect of natural food colorings on immunoglobulin production in vitro by rat spleen lymphocytes.
abstract: Water-soluble (cacao pigment, cochineal pigment, corn pigment, betanin, carthamus yellow, and monascus pigment) and water-insoluble (gardenia yellow, laccaic acid, bixin, and curcumin) natural colorings inhibited IgE production by rat spleen lymphocytes at 10 and microM, respectively. Although many of these colorings only inhibited the production of IgG and IgM at high concentrations, the water-insoluble colorings enhanced IgM production even at 1 microM. These results suggest that natural colorings have immunoglobulin production-regulating activity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kuramoto
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Tsuruta
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sugano
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005505:Food Coloring Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007136:Immunoglobulins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011914:Rats, Inbred BN; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D005505:Food Coloring Agents; D007136:Immunoglobulins