Affiliations: Department of Research and Development, Nishikawa
Rubber Co., Ltd., 2-2-8 Misasa-cho, Nishi-ku, Hiroshima 733-8510, Japan. Tel.:
+81 82 875 0041; Fax: +81 82 875 0610; E-mail:
onishi@nishikawa-rbr.co.jp | Department of Molecular Biotechnology, Graduate School
of Advanced Sciences of Matter, Hiroshima University, 1-3-1 Kagamiyama,
Higashi-Hiroshima 739-8530, Japan | Shimizu Chemical Corporation, 3622 Kihara-cho, Mihara
729-0321, Japan
Note: [] Corresponding author
Abstract: Konjac glucomannan (GM) is a well-known dietary fiber with various
beneficial functions, which the higher viscous GM is proposed to have the
stronger potencies. Application of highly viscous GM to various food industries
is limited for the sake of long elapsed time required to solubilize the GM.
Thus, the exploration into any physiological function of low-viscous GM
remained undone for a long time. Male 4-week-old NC/Nga mice, a model of atopic
dermatitis (AD), were fed for 8 weeks on diets containing 5% each of a
high-viscous GM powder, ordinary konjac or highly purified GM, and a
low-viscous GM powder, pulverized GM or re-granulated fine GM. Striking
suppression to the aggravation of dermatitis and the increases in scratching
behaviors and IgE levels was significantly observed only in mice fed on the
pulverized GM diet, but not in mice fed on the other GM diets or a control
diet. We concluded that the low-viscous GM possesses a novel immunoregulatory
function and the intensity of the function depends upon the particle size
rather than the viscosity.
