Food-derived bioactives as potential regulators of the IL-12/IL-23 pathway implicated in inflammatory bowel diseases

Upon verification that stimulation of Kit 225 cells with 1 ng/mL IL-23 significantly upregulated IL-17 and TNF-α gene expression, and IL-17 production, we supplemented cells with selected food bioactives, caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE), epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and linoleic acid (LA), and with phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) and sodium salicylate, used as pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory controls, respectively. In both unstimulated cells and after IL-23 stimulation, bioactives modulated the pro-inflammatory cytokines involved in IBD, underlining the possible role of foods in this disease. EGCG and DHA, which significantly inhibited both IL-17 and TNF-α expression, appeared particularly interesting.