Inhibitory Effect of Fermented Grape Pomace on Degranulation in RBL-2H3 Cells and an Analysis of Its Active Ingredients

Abstract

We investigated the anti-allergic effect of fermented grape pomace from Vitis vinifera Koshu (FG), using rat basophilic leukemia (RBL-2H3) cells. FG showed greater inhibitory effect on degranulation than Lactobacillus plantarum NB strain (NB strain), which was used for fermentation, and grape pomace (G). Furthermore, we separated FG into three fractions with distilled water containing 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid (acidified water) (F1), ethyl acetate (F2) and methanol (F3) in order to investigate the active ingredients in FG, and analyzed their inhibitory mechanisms on degranulation. The F2 sample, which contained mainly low polymerized phenolic ingredients, showed a strong inhibitory effect, whereas the F3 sample, which contained mainly polymeric proanthocyandins, showed the highest inhibitory effect among all samples. It was confirmed that phenolic ingredients in FG act on various stages of degranulation. These results suggest that FG may exert anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic effects by acting on various stages of the degranulation response of mast cells.