title: The ability of konjac-glucomannan to suppress spontaneously occurring dermatitis in NC/Nga mice depends upon the particle size.
abstract: Konjac glucomannan (GM) is a well-known dietary fiber with various beneficial functions, which the higher viscous GM is proposed to have the stronger potencies. Application of highly viscous GM to various food industries is limited for the sake of long elapsed time required to solubilize the GM. Thus, the exploration into any physiological function of low-viscous GM remained undone for a long time. Male 4-week-old NC/Nga mice, a model of atopic dermatitis (AD), were fed for 8 weeks on diets containing 5% each of a high-viscous GM powder, ordinary konjac or highly purified GM, and a low-viscous GM powder, pulverized GM or re-granulated fine GM. Striking suppression to the aggravation of dermatitis and the increases in scratching behaviors and IgE levels was significantly observed only in mice fed on the pulverized GM diet, but not in mice fed on the other GM diets or a control diet. We concluded that the low-viscous GM possesses a novel immunoregulatory function and the intensity of the function depends upon the particle size rather than the viscosity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Research and Development, Nishikawa Rubber Co., Ltd., 2-2-8 Misasa-cho, Nishi-ku, Hiroshima 733-8510, Japan. onishi@nishikawa-rbr.co.jp
authors.forename: Nobukazu
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Onishi
authors.forename: Seiji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kawamoto
authors.forename: Masaru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nishimura
authors.forename: Toshiaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakano
authors.forename: Tsunehiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Aki
authors.forename: Seiko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shigeta
authors.forename: Hisao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shimizu
authors.forename: Kunihiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.forename: Kazuhisa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ono
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004043:Dietary Fiber / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008351:Mannans / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D012867:Skin / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D004043:Dietary Fiber; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D008351:Mannans; C022901:(1-6)-alpha-glucomannan