Germinated barley foodstuffs attenuate colonic mucosal damage and mucosal nuclear factor kappa B activity in a spontaneous colitis model.
BACKGROUND
Germinated barley foodstuffs (GBF), which are derived from brewer's spent grain and are a highly safe food substance, increased butyrate production in the lower intestine and prevented mucosal damage and bloody diarrhoea in an acute experimental colitis model. As human histocompatibility leucocyte antigen (HLA)-B27 transgenic rats develop spontaneous and chronic intestinal inflammation resembling ulcerative colitis, we investigated the mechanisms underlying the preventive effects of GBF against a spontaneous and chronic colitis model. Specifically, the production of bacterial butyrate and the regulation of proinflammatory cytokine production were examined.


METHODS
A GBF diet and a cellulose (CE) diet were fed to HLA-B27 transgenic rats for 13 weeks. The presence of faecal occult blood, colonic mucosal protein, DNA and RNA content, colonic myeloperoxidase activity, nuclear factor kappa B (NFkappaB) DNA binding activity, the depth of the crypts and serum inflammatory parameters were then evaluated. Butyrate production in the caecal contents was also determined.


RESULTS
Feeding GBF significantly increased bacterial butyrate production and simultaneously attenuated the presence of faecal occult blood and colonic mucosal hyperplasia. Colonic mucosal NFkappaB-DNA binding activity and the production of interleukin-8 were also suppressed by the butyrate produced from GBF.


CONCLUSIONS
Germinated barley foodstuffs feeding promotes bacterial butyrate production and attenuated inflammation in both spontaneous and chronic colitis in HLA-B27 transgenic rats.
Kanauchi
O
O
Applied Bioresearch Center, Corporate Research and Development Division, Kirin Brewery Co. Ltd, Gunma, Japan. kanauchio@kirin.co.jp
Andoh
A
A
Iwanaga
T
T
Fujiyama
Y
Y
Mitsuyama
K
K
Toyonaga
A
A
Bamba
T
T
D000818:Animals; D002087:Butyrates / Q000378:metabolism*; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000517:prevention & control; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004755:Enterobacteriaceae / Q000378:metabolism; D005285:Fermentation; D001467:Hordeum; D006965:Hyperplasia / Q000178:diet therapy; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D016328:NF-kappa B / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats
D002087:Butyrates; D016207:Cytokines; D016328:NF-kappa B