Oral Administration of Vaccinium uliginosum L. Extract Alleviates DNCB-Induced Atopic Dermatitis in NC/Nga Mice

• Published in: Journal of medicinal food Vol. 17; no. 12; pp. 1350 - 1360
• Main Authors: Kim, Kang-Hyun, Choung, Se-Young
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Mary Ann Liebert, Inc 01.12.2014
• Subjects: Administration, Oral; Animals; atopic dermatitis; blood serum; chemokines; Cytokines - immunology; Dermatitis, Atopic - blood; Dermatitis, Atopic - chemically induced; Dermatitis, Atopic - drug therapy; Dermatologic Agents - administration & dosage; Dinitrochlorobenzene - adverse effects; ears; eosinophils; Epidermis - drug effects; gene expression; histamine; immunoglobulin E; Immunoglobulin E - blood; interleukins; Irritants; ligands; Male; mast cells; Mast Cells - drug effects; messenger RNA; Mice; oral administration; Plant Extracts - administration & dosage; skin lesions; splenocytes; Vaccinium - chemistry; Vaccinium uliginosum; mast cell; cytokine production inhibition; IgG1; chemokine ligand; IgG2a; eosinophil
• ISSN: 1557-7600; 1557-7600
• DOI: 10.1089/jmf.2013.3053

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic relapsing inflammatory skin disease that responds to the interplay of environmental, immunological, and genetic factors. To explore the effect of Vaccinium uliginosum (VU) extract on AD, we orally administrated VU total water extract to AD-induced NC/Nga mice. VU extract reduced AD-like skin lesions, ear thickness, and the frequency of scratching episodes in a time-dependent manner. VU also suppressed the levels of IgE and histamine and the ratio of IgG1/IgG2a in the serum of AD-induced NC/Nga mice. VU administration resulted in the reduction of splenic cytokine production, epidermal thickening, and the infiltration of eosinophils, mast cells, and degranulated mast cells induced by 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB). In addition, VU significantly reduced the mRNA expression of chemokine ligands in dorsal skin. Total water extract and subfractions of VU inhibited interleukin (IL)-4 production in splenocytes, suggesting that VU total extract has a Th2 cytokine modulating effect. These results suggest that the VU total water extract could be a candidate therapeutic agent for the treatment of AD through an immunoregulatory effect.