Aqueous Extract from Cuminum cyminum L. Seed Alleviates Ovalbumin-Induced Allergic Rhinitis in Mouse via Balancing of Helper T Cells

• Published in: Foods Vol. 11; no. 20; p. 3224
• Main Authors: Ishida, Momoko, Miyagawa, Fuka, Nishi, Kosuke, Sugahara, Takuya
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 15.10.2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Allergic rhinitis; Allergies; Aluminum; Aluminum hydroxide; Animal models; Antigens; Blood; CAD; Communication; Computer aided design; Cuminum; Cuminum cyminum; Cuminum cyminum L; Cytokines; Degranulation; Experiments; Food allergies; Food science; Hay fever; Helper cells; Histamine; Immunoglobulin E; In vivo methods and tests; Ingestion; Interleukin 10; Interleukin 13; Interleukin 4; Interleukin 5; Kinases; Lymphocytes; Lymphocytes T; Oral administration; Ovalbumin; Rhinitis; Seeds; Sneezing; Spleen; Splenocytes; T cell balance; T-helper cells; United States > US; Japan; T-helper cells; allergic rhinitis; Cuminum cyminum L; T cell balance; ovalbumin
• ISSN: 2304-8158; 2304-8158
• DOI: 10.3390/foods11203224

L. (cumin) seeds are widely used as a spice. Although we previously reported that the aqueous extract of cumin seeds suppresses the degranulation of rat basophilic RBL-2H3 cells, it has not been clarified whether the extract alleviates actual allergy symptoms in vivo. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the effect of oral administration of cumin seed aqueous extract (CAE) in ovalbumin (OVA)-induced allergic rhinitis. BALB/c mice were randomly divided into the following three groups: control group (five mice), OVA group (five mice), and OVA + CAE group (five mice). Allergic rhinitis was induced by sensitization (intraperitoneal, 25 μg OVA and 1.98 mg aluminum hydroxide gel) followed by challenge (intranasal, 400 μg OVA). The oral administration of CAE (25 mg/kg) reduced the sneezing frequency of OVA-induced allergic rhinitis model mice. In addition to reducing the serum immunoglobulin E and IL-4 levels, the oral administration of CAE reduced the production of T-helper type-2 (Th2) cytokines (IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, and IL-13) in the splenocytes of the model mice. Furthermore, a significant increase in the ratio of Th1 to Th2 cells was observed in the CAE-administered group. Our findings suggest that the ingestion of CAE improves T cell balance, the dominant state of Th2, and alleviates allergic rhinitis symptoms.