Preventive Effects of Saccharified Solution of Rice, Oryza sativa subsp. japonica, in Mouse Allergic Models

Abstract

We investigated the preventive effects of a saccharified solution of rice, Oryza sativa subsp. japonica, against type IV and type I allergy in mice. The oral and/or percutaneous administration of the saccharified rice solution prevented type IV allergy at doses of 0.3 and 0.5 ml/mouse and at a dose of 10 µl/ear, respectively. With oral administration, the solution also suppressed type I allergy at doses of 0.25 and 0.5 ml/mouse. In the case of type IV allergy, administration of the saccharified rice solution suppressed the ear levels of tumor necrosis factor-α and tended to suppress the ear levels of interleukin-12. The non-dialysate prepared from the saccharified solution showed similar effects to the original solution, suggesting that the molecular weights of the active components are higher than ca. 14000. The saccharified rice solution also enhanced the antioxidative activities in the serum of mice with type IV allergy. These results suggest that the saccharified rice solution may be a convenient beneficial food material for prevention of allergies based on suppression of the increases * To whom correspondence should be addressed: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Numazu National College of Technology, 3600 Ooka, Numazu-shi, Shizuoka 410-8501, Japan. Tel. & Fax: +81-55-926-5861; E-mail: k-yoshino@ numazu-ct.ac.jp in some proinflammatory cytokines and promotion of antioxidative activity.