Using metabolomics to discover the immunomodulator activity of food plants

Novi Safriani; Fransisca Rungkat Zakaria; Endang Prangdimurti; Suwarti; Robert Verpoorte; Nancy Dewi Yuliana

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e09507

Using metabolomics to discover the immunomodulator activity of food plants

Heliyon. 2022 May 21;8(5):e09507. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e09507. eCollection 2022 May.

Authors

Novi Safriani^{1

2}, Fransisca Rungkat Zakaria¹, Endang Prangdimurti¹, Suwarti³, Robert Verpoorte⁴, Nancy Dewi Yuliana¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Food Science and Technology, IPB University, IPB Dramaga Campus, Bogor 16680, Indonesia.
² Department of Agricultural Product Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
³ Eijkman-Oxford Clinical Research Unit, Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology, Jalan Pangeran Diponegoro No. 69, Jakarta, Indonesia.
⁴ Natural Products Laboratory, Institute of Biology, Leiden University, 2300 RA Leiden, the Netherlands.

Abstract

Many edible plants exhibit immunomodulator activities that have beneficial effects on human health. These activities include the ability to activate, multiply, or suppress elements of the immune response. Some of these plants promote health by strengthening host defences against different diseases. In this article, we provide a comprehensive review of the constituents of several edible plants, their immunomodulatory activity, and mechanism of actions for Carica papaya, Coffea sp, Asparagus cochinchinensis, Dioscorea alata, beans, mushrooms, herbs, spices, and several vegetables. The studies reported here are pre-clinical (in vitro and in vivo) and clinical studies (limited in number). The bioactive compounds responsible for the immunomodulator activity of these plants were yet to be identified. This is because the plant is naturally a complex mixture, whilst the immune system is also an intricate system involving many cells and cytokines/chemokines. Metabolomics is a key tool for conducting global profiling of metabolites in a complex system. Therefore, it offers the ability to identify the presence of compounds in plant extracts associated with their immunomodulation effects. Likewise, metabolomics can also be used to detect any changes to metabolites in the cell as a response to treatment. Therefore, affected metabolic pathways that lead to the activation of certain immune responses can be determined from one single experiment. However, we found in this review that the use of a metabolomics approach is not yet fully developed for an immunomodulator study of food plants. This is important for the direction of future research in this field because unlike medicinal plants, food plants are consumed on a regular basis in small amounts with more obvious effects on the immune system. Information about possible bioactive compounds, their interactions (synergism, antagonism), and how the human body responds to them should be studied in a more holistic way.

Keywords: Bioactive compound discovery; Functional food; Immune-system; Metabolomics; Natural immunomodulator.

Publication types

Review