Identifier

etd-04042016-152133

Degree

Master of Science (MS)

Department

School of Nutrition and Food Sciences

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

Celiac disease (CD) is a chronic immune-mediated disease of the small intestine caused by the ingestion of gluten. Gluten presents to the intestine largely intact where it is deamidated by Transglutaminase-2 (TG2), increasing affinity for Human Leukocyte Antigen DQ2 (HLA-DQ2) and forming a complex that elicits an inflammatory response ultimately leading to villous atrophy. The only current treatment is strict adherence to a gluten-free diet, though TG2 inhibition is an attractive therapy due its central role in CD pathogenesis. Cocoa contains procyanidin-B2, theobromine and caffeine and may be capable of inhibiting TG2-induced intestinal inflammation and reduce CD symptoms. Procyanidin-B2 rich cocoa extracts reduced TG2 levels by up to 77% in vitro using Caco-2 cells. Significant TG2 inhibition was seen when cocoa extracts contained at least 8.5 μM procyanidin-B2 (p<0.05). Other CD inflammatory biomarkers including COX-2 and IL-15 were also significantly decreased in the presence of cocoa extracts. Serum cytokines IL-6, IL-8 and IL-1β are commonly used to monitor CD and were analyzed using ELISA to confirm the inhibition of inflammatory biomarkers. This study shows promising results for use of a bioactive-rich cocoa product as a dietary inhibitor of TG2 that can be used with wheat-based products as an alternative therapy in CD.

Date

2016

Document Availability at the Time of Submission

Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.

Committee Chair

Losso, Jack

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_theses.1716

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