Immunology and Infectious Disease Commons^™

The Effect Of Wild Blueberry Anthocyanins And Phenolic Acids On Innate Immunity: The Compliment System, Vasiliki Papakotsi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ingestion of berries containing polyphenols is associated with lower risk of inflammatory, metabolic, cardiovascular and degenerative diseases. Diet has been shown to modulate the activation of the complement system, a set of over 50 proteins present in the circulation and tissues that reacts in response to damage or microbial encounter and is critical for the maintenance of homeostasis. Imbalanced activation is tightly correlated with inflammation and various pathologies. Wild blueberries are a rich source of anthocyanins and phenolic acids, which can be found in plasma shortly after consumption. Given the involvement of both complement and polyphenols in the modulation of …