Chronic Gut Inflammation Might be Triggered by Two Common Food Coloring

A study done on mice suggests that certain commonly used food coloring may play a role in triggering inflammatory bowel disease symptoms. Research shows that red and yellow food dyes triggered chronic gut inflammation in the mice subjects only when their immune systems were dysfunctional before the introduction of food coloring.

Although researchers say that the findings require further investigation, they could someday carry vital implications on treatments and management of patients with inflammatory bowel diseases.

What is Inflammatory Bowel Disease?

Inflammatory bowel disease refers to two chronic conditions, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis that are characterized by symptoms of chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. Wherein prolonged inflammation results in damages to the gastrointestinal tract.

Common symptoms of IBD are persistent diarrhea, rectal bleeding, fatigue, abdominal pain, and weight loss.

Despite the causes of IBD remain to be unknown, it results from defective immune systems. A full-functioning immune system will be able to attack foreign organisms in the body like bacterias and viruses to protect the human body. However, with IBD, the immune system incorrectly responds to environmental triggers that result in inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract.

A component of the human immune system linked to IBD has heightened levels of interleukin-23--a protein, wherein several IBD treatments are thought to work by decreasing the protein.

Common Food Coloring Linked to Inflammatory Bowel Disease

A study published in the journal Cell, entitled "Food colorants metabolized by commensal bacteria promote colitis in mice with dysregulated expression of interleukin-23" suggests that commonly used food colorants and dyes promoted IBD in mice with heightened expression of the protein associated with IBD.

When mice with dysregulated expression of the protein were fed food and water containing food coloring they developed colitis. No similar effect was recorded when healthy mice were fed with the same amount of commonly used food coloring.

Sergio Lira, senior author and a researcher from the Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn Mount Sinai tells Gizmodo that their observations suggested that the food colorants played a vital role in the generation of human diseases and assist researchers in understanding how the protein IL-23 influences and promotes diseases.

However, Lira insists that further studies are needed to understand how said factors intersect and their relevance in human diseases.

Inflammatory bowel disease is a severely complex condition with no clear cause. Although IL-23 isn't the only reason behind the disease it is thought to increase the risks of having IBD episodes.

Some patients with IBD report that specific drinks and foods make them more susceptible to experiencing flare-ups. If the food dyes are verified as a trigger it could severely affect patient's diets and treatments.

Since Yellow 6 and Red 40 are found in a wide variety of products and some drug packaging.

Lira, for now, cautions patients that the research should be taken with a grain of salt and shouldn't be used to make care decisions for people with IBD. Stating that the study is yet to have immediate implications in the care and treatment of said patients.

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