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Defining the Role of Dietary Phytochemicals in Modulating Human Immune Function

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Nutrition and Immunology

Abstract

As this volume clearly demonstrates, the interaction between nutrition and immune function is multidimensional, highly integrated, and extremely complex. A growing number of reports in the literature suggest that this interaction is true for both “nonessential” components of the diet as well as the classically defined essential micronutrients and macronutrients, with “nonessential” components comprising plant-derived compounds (phytochemicals), certain bacteria and their metabolites, certain fatty acids and peptides, and so forth. Indeed, epidemiological data strongly suggest that intake of foods rich in certain phytochemicals, such as fruits, vegetables, and nuts, is protective against chronic diseases such as cancer (1–3) and cardiovascular disease (4,5). Given the critical role of immune cells and signaling molecules in these health conditions, these data imply a potential interaction of phytochemicals with immune function. This hypothesis is supported by a large amount of data demonstrating the ability of some phytochemicals to modulate immune cells and signaling molecules in vitro and in certain animal models. However, it must be recognized that current knowledge of the interaction between these “nonessential” components, including phytochemicals, and immune function generally lags behind that available in the literature on essential nutrients, especially with respect to human clinical data.

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Authors
  1. Harold Schmitz
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  2. Kati Chevaux
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Rheumatology/Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, USA

    M. Eric Gershwin MD

  2. Department of Food Science and Technology, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, USA

    J. Bruce German PhD

  3. Department of Nutrition, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, USA

    Carl L. Keen PhD

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Schmitz, H., Chevaux, K. (2000). Defining the Role of Dietary Phytochemicals in Modulating Human Immune Function. In: Gershwin, M.E., German, J.B., Keen, C.L. (eds) Nutrition and Immunology. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-709-3_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-709-3_9

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-61737-148-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-59259-709-3

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