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Seaweed has long been a staple food in many Asian countries and has recently caught on as a snack food in America as a healthful alternative to chips. The edible algae that fall in the category of seaweed are low-calorie and packed with nutrients. In addition, now scientists have found that a type of commercial red algae could help counteract food allergies. They report their findings in mice in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 海藻一直是許多亞洲國家的主食，并且最近在美國被作為一種替代炸土豆條的健康零食。這種歸為海藻一類的可食用藻類熱量低并且富含營養。另外，現在科學家們發現，一種紅藻產品有助于抵抗食物過敏。他們將這一在小鼠中發現的研究結果發表在美國化學學會的《農業與食品化學雜志》上。 Food allergies are a major global health issue that can be life threatening in some cases. One 2014 study by researchers at Mount Sinai Hospital estimates that the condition affects about 8 percent of children and 5 percent of adults worldwide. In people who are allergic, certain compounds in food trigger a cascade of immune system reactions that lead to symptoms such as hives, wheezing and dizziness -- and in the worst cases, anaphylactic shock. Previous research has suggested that certain seaweed varieties contain polysaccharides with anti-asthmatic and anti-allergy effects. But no one had investigated whether similar molecules in Gracilaria lemaneiformis, a commercial variety of red algae, might have similar properties. Guang-Ming Liu and colleagues wanted to find out. 食物過敏是全球的一個主要健康問題，在一些情況下可以危及生命。西奈山醫院的研究人員在2014年所做的一項研究估計，在全球范圍內，約有8%的兒童和5%的成人受到食物過敏的困擾。對于過敏的人群，食物中的某些化合物會引發一連串的免疫系統反應，導致諸如蕁麻疹、哮喘、頭暈等癥狀，最糟糕的情況下，會引起過敏性休克。先前的研究已表明，某些海藻品種包含具有抗哮喘和抗過敏作用的多糖成分。但是一種紅藻產品，龍須菜中的相似分子是否有相似的作用，尚沒有人進行過研究。劉光明及其同事想一探究竟。 The researchers isolated polysaccharides from G. lemaneiformis and fed them to a group of mice sensitive to tropomyosin, a protein that is a major shellfish allergen. Another group of mice, also sensitive to tropomyosin, did not get the polysaccharides. After both groups were given the allergen, allergy symptoms in the treated mice were reduced compared to the untreated animals. Further studying polysaccharides from G. lemaneiformis could help lead to a better understanding of food allergies and their prevention, the researchers say. 研究人員從龍須菜中分離多糖，把它喂給一群對原肌球蛋白(一種主要的貝類過敏原)過敏的老鼠。另外一組同樣對原肌球蛋白過敏的老鼠作為對照，不喂這種多糖。當兩組老鼠都接觸過敏原后，吃過多糖的老鼠的過敏癥狀較未吃多糖的老鼠少。研究者表示，進一步研究龍須菜中的多糖成分能有助于更好地理解食物過敏和它們的保護作用。 |
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