Polyphenols and their components in experimental allergic asthma.

The aim of the study was to investigate the potential anti-inflammatory effects in -experimental allergic asthma of natural polyphenolic compounds or their single major components. The experiment was performed after 21-days sensitization of guinea pigs with ovalbumin suspension. Changes in airway reactivity after the long-term treatment with the polyphenolic compounds Provinol and Flavin-7 and their single major components quercetin and resveratrol during were assessed using a whole body plethysmography. Reactivity of tracheal smooth muscle was studied in vitro in response to cumulative doses of the bronchoconstrictive mediators histamine and acetylcholine. Furthermore, concentrations of the inflammatory cytokines IL-4 and IL-5 were measured in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. The results demonstrate significant anti-inflammatory effects of Provinol and Flavin-7 exerted in the airways. In contrast, chronic treatment with quercetin and resveratrol, single components of the two polyphenols, did not show such activity. We conclude that polyphenolic compounds are more effective in the anti-inflammatory effects in the airways than their separate components.