Lupine Publishers | Scholarly Journal of Food and Nutrition
Abstract
Immune system is an intricate mechanism, the functioning of which
maintains a balance between various diseases. The proper functioning of Immune
system is dependent upon the healthy, nutritional diet which thereby helps in
combating many diseases and pathogen attack.
Introduction
The nutritional value of the food that we consume plays a very
important role in combating many diseases. Industrialization, urbanization,
economic and social development has brought to prompt changes in diets and life
style. Consequently people have become more prone to cancer, hypertension,
strokes etc due to inappropriate diet. One of the major causes of many of these
diseases is oxidative stress caused by disturbance in the balance between
antioxidants and prooxidants. Prooxidants or free radicals are the species
capable of independent existence that contain one/more unpaired electrons [1].
Free radicals not only contribute to the elimination of infected cells, but
when present in higher concentrations react with cellular DNA, proteins, lipids
and other macromolecules. The disease such as brain dysfunction, cancer,
autoimmune pathologies, gastrointestinal inflammation and ulcers [2], heart
diseases and immune decline could be due to these free radicals [3]. In
physiological condition, the human body can compensate for a mild degree of
oxidant stress and remove oxidatively damaged molecules by activating
antioxidant enzymes like superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione
peroxidase, etc. Thus, owing to their ability to reduce oxidative damage.
The deleterious impacts of these free radicals can be reduced down
by adding natural antioxidant rich diet in our daily routine. It is tempting to
speculate that the restorative and rejuvenating power of these antioxidants be
due to their action on the immune system which is responsible for the
protection of the organism from extraneous substances and maintaining
homeostasis. Nutritional Immunology arose largely during the early 20th
century. The recognition of various vitamins and advancement in the field of
Immunology made it possible to study the impact of free radicals on Immune
system and thereby generation various diseases and disorders.
Free
Radicals and Antioxidants in the Immune System
The immune cell functions such as those involved in the
inflammatory response, cytotoxic activity and particularly in phagocytes as
regards their microbicidal activity, are specially linked to reactive oxygen
species (ROS) generation. However, it is very well known fact that excessive
amounts of ROS which are not counteracted by the antioxidant defenses of the
cell, can become a source of tissue damage, since free radicals can attack
cellular components and lead to death because of the molecular damage resulting
from oxidative stress.
Thus, the immune cell functions are strongly influenced by the
antioxidant=oxidant balance and, As the Immune cells have high percent of
polyunsaturated fatty acids in their plasma membranes and a higher production
of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which makes them more sensitive towards the
oxidative stress. Additionally, the oxidative stress damages the membrane which
in turn affects the defense function and binding of antigen by the immune
cells. Antioxidant levels in these cells play a pivotal role in maintaining
immune cells in a reduced environment and in protecting them from oxidative
stress and preserving their adequate function [4]. The studies have shown that
many pathogenic attack, and other diseases are more sever in immunocompromised
host. Further the studies has shown that Immune system is very well affected by
the deficiencies of other elements also (Table 1) showing the impact of these
elements on Immune system.
The data suggests that that antioxidant nutrients commonly includes
vitamin E, vitamin C, β-carotene, selenium, copper, iron and zinc improve
different immune function exhibiting an important protective role in infections
caused by bacteria, viruses or parasites. Fruits and vegetable are the rich
source of natural antioxidants. Foods with darker, richer colors like orange,
yellow, blue, and red tend to be higher in antioxidants. In addition to these
fruits and vegetables, nuts and spices are also a good source of antioxidants.
The intake of these antioxidants by many immunocompromised persons or with
weakened immune system also showed tremendous results against infections and
other pathophysiological conditions.
The results of recent studies emphasized that functional role of
antioxidants as depends upon their concentration. Higher levels may leads to
adverse effects where as low levels may lead to many diseases. All these
antioxidants have been shown to improve the immune functions in vitro and in
vivo [5-7]. Furthermore, the inhibition of activation of the nuclear
transcription factor NF-kB produced by oxidative stress, which could result in
a decrease of free radicals and pro-inflammatory cytokine production hence,
showing antinflammatory action of these antioxidants. The imbalance in immune
homeostasis leads to many diseases.
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