Inhibition of immunoglobulin E production in allergic model mice by supplementation with vitamin E and beta-carotene

A diet containing different amounts of vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol; 0.5 mg, 5 mg, 10 mg or 50 mg per 100 g diet) was supplemented to BALB/c mice for 6 weeks. These mice were subcutaneously immunized twice with ovalbumin (OVA). A passive cutaneous anaphylaxis (PCA) analysis demonstrated that the mice fed on the diet containing 5 mg of vitamin E produced the highest level of the OVA-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibody. A lower level of serum IgE was found in the mice supplemented with 0.5 mg, 10 mg and 50 mg of vitamin E. A sandwich ELISA analysis showed that the pattern of the total IgE antibody level among these four groups was the same as that of the allergen-specific IgE. In a separate experiment, 5 mg of vitamin E and/or 50 mg of beta-carotene was supplemented to the basal diet containing vitamin E as alpha-tocopherol acetate (5 mg) in order to evaluate the effect of their combination on OVA-specific and total IgE production in the mice. The supplementation with beta-carotene alone had no effect on OVA-specific or total IgE production. In contrast, supplementation with vitamin E plus beta-carotene effectively suppressed both the antigen-specific and total IgE antibodies. The serum vitamin E and beta-carotene levels were increased by supplementation with the respective compounds. These results strongly suggest that the combination of dietary vitamin E and beta-carotene suppressed IgE production and would therefore help to prevent the type-I allergic reaction.