Strawberry tannins inhibit IL-8 secretion in a cell model of gastric inflammation

In the present study we chemically profiled tannin-enriched extracts from strawberries and tested their biological properties in a cell model of gastric inflammation. The chemical and biological features of strawberry tannins after in vitro simulated gastric digestion were investigated as well. The anti-inflammatory activities of pure strawberry tannins were assayed to get mechanistic insights. Tannin-enriched extracts from strawberries inhibit IL-8 secretion in TNFα-treated human gastric epithelial cells by dampening the NF-kB signaling. In vitro simulated gastric digestion slightly affected the chemical composition and the biological properties of strawberry tannins. By using pure compounds, we found that casuarictin may act as a pure NF-kB inhibitor while agrimoniin inhibits IL-8 secretion also acting on other biological targets; in our system procyanidin B1 prevents the TNFα-induced effects without interfering with the NF-kB pathway. We conclude that strawberry tannins, even after in vitro simulated gastric digestion, exert anti-inflammatory activities at nutritionally relevant concentrations.