Apple Compounds Affect Inflammation

Apple peel is an abundant source of triterpenoids – plant-based compounds for which anti-cancer effects are suggested.  Elke Richling, from University of Kaiserslautern (Germany), and colleagues  studied the effects of ursanic, oleanic and lupanic pentacyclic triterpenoids found in apple peel for their anti-inflammatory effects, using colon cancer cells that were exposed to the triterpenoids and then stimulated with pro-inflammatory cytokines. Finding that the apple peel compounds inhibited the expression of IP-10, a gene that is linked to inflammatory disorders including irritable bowel disease, the study authors submit that: “The present study confirms that triterpenoids present in apple peel …  may be implicated in the anti-inflammatory properties of apple constituents, suggesting that these substances might be helpful in the treatment of [irritable bowel disease] as nutrient supplements.”