Pineapple glucosylceramide and allergic reaction in lab and mouse studies
What it found
In mice, a pineapple compound reduced ear swelling from an allergic reaction, and in lab tests it stopped mast cells from releasing a marker of allergic activity.
The effect seemed to come from a breakdown product of the compound, not the compound itself.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Ear swelling in mice
Mice given P-GlcCer by mouth for 4 days had less ear swelling after an allergic challenge than mice that did not get it.
Mast cell release in lab
In a lab system with intestinal and mast cells, P-GlcCer reduced the release of a marker of mast cell activation. But when P-GlcCer was put directly on mast cells, it did not stop the release.
Breakdown product active
A breakdown product of P-GlcCer, called 4,8-sphingadienine, did stop the release when put directly on mast cells. This suggests the body may need to break down P-GlcCer for it to work.
TGF-beta levels
Short-term P-GlcCer did not change levels of TGF-beta in the blood of mice, so the authors think TGF-beta is not behind the effect seen in this study.
Studies in people and animals
Role of LMIR3 receptor
When a substance that blocks the LMIR3 receptor was added, the effects of P-GlcCer on ear swelling and mast cell release were cancelled. This points to LMIR3 being involved in how P-GlcCer works.
What the authors conclude
“The oral administration of P-GlcCer is a novel and attractive food factor that acts directly on mast cells to suppress allergy.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that a sphingoid base, one of the metabolites of P-GlcCer, may inhibit mast cell degranulation by binding to LMIR3.
- They say that oral administration of P-GlcCer is a novel and attractive food factor that acts directly on mast cells to suppress allergy.
- They conclude that P-GlcCer may be an effective treatment of type I hypersensitivity.
How it was done
Allergies like hay fever and food allergy are a growing public health problem, and current treatments can have side effects. The authors wanted to see if a food compound from pineapple could help prevent allergic reactions.
They gave mice a pineapple glucosylceramide (P-GlcCer) by mouth for 4 days, then triggered an allergic skin reaction and measured ear swelling. They also used a lab model with human intestinal cells and rat mast cells to see if P-GlcCer or its breakdown products affected mast cell release.
What it can’t tell you
- These are animal and lab studies. They can't show what happens in people.
- The study did not test whether 4,8-SD directly binds to LMIR3, so the exact way it works is not yet known.
- The mice were given P-GlcCer for only 4 days, so the effects of longer use are not known.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
- Authors work at
- Kobe University, Japan
The paper
- Title
- Sphingoid base in pineapple glucosylceramide suppresses experimental allergy by binding leukocyte mono-immunoglobulin-like receptor 3
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Licence
- CC BY. Words in quotation marks are the authors’; the rest is our summary.
- Cite
- Takemura A, Ohto N, Kuwahara H, Mizuno M (2022). Sphingoid base in pineapple glucosylceramide suppresses experimental allergy by binding leukocyte mono-immunoglobulin-like receptor 3. Journal of the science of food and agriculture. doi:10.1002/jsfa.11610Free full textPubMed 34708420DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error