The Effects of Supplementation with Antioxidant-rich Diet on the Immune Function and Iron Metabolism of Institutionalized Elderly in Taiwan

• Main Authors: YANG, JIA-HUANG, 楊佳凰
• Other Authors: WU, WEN-MEIN
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2019
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/z7m9j7

碩士 === 輔仁大學 === 營養科學系碩士班 === 107 === The prevalence of anemia is increased with age over 65-year old in Taiwan. The common causes of anemia in the elderly include nutrient deficiencies, chronic inflammatory diseases and unexplained anemia. According to the theory of inflammageing, the process of aging was often accompanied by immunosenescence and increased oxidative stress, resulting in blood circulating levels of High sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin -6 (IL-6) and soluble receptor of advanced glycosylation end products (sRAGE) increase with age. Chronic inflammation may stimulate the liver to secrete hepcidin, and it further reduce serum iron concentration and inhibit erythropoiesis. There were few clinical studies on exploring the effects of nutritional intervention on inflammageing and iron metabolism of healthy elderly. This study aimed to determine the effects of the phytonutrients-rich supplementation on immune function and iron metabolism in healthy elderly, and to explore the associations between the changes in plasma hepcidin concentration and inflammageing. The study randomly recruited 59 institutionalized elderly lived in senior home at the Taipei metro area. The antioxidant-rich diet (combined with vegetables, fruits and nuts) and the sesame snack (powdery or pasty sesame) was supplemented daily for 4 months. Blood samples were collected at baseline, 2- and 4-month intervention, respectively, to determine iron status, inflammatory status and immune function of the elderly. Finally, 42 elderly enrolled in the study completed the dietary intervention. The results showed that the phagocytic capacity of granulocytes in the peripheral blood of the elderly was significantly improved after 2-month intervention. After 4-month intervention, the percentage of CD4+ T cells in the peripheral blood lymphocytes and ratio of CD4+ / CD8+ T cells proportion was significantly increased compared to the baseline, while the percentage of CD56+ natural killer cells was significantly decreased. The dietary intervention had no significant effects on the levels of IL-6, hsCRP and sRAGE in the peripheral blood of the elderly. There was a significant positive correlation between the levels of hepcidin and IL-6 in the plasma of the elderly. The dietary intervention may cause the plasma hepcidin concentration increases, further increasing the serum ferritin concentration and promoting the iron storage capacity in the elderly. In conclusion, this study found that the supplementation with the antioxidant-rich diet and the sesame snack has improved the phagocytic capacity of granulocytes in the peripheral blood, one of the functional assessments of innate immunity, and firstly presented the clinical data of the plasma hepcidin and sRAGE concentrations of the healthy elderly in Taiwan.