Abstract: Objective: This study investigated the effect and mechanism of oral administration of diallyl trisulfide (DATS) on ovalbumin (OVA)- and Al(OH)3-induced food allergy in mice. Methods: Female Balb/c mice (about 5 weeks old) were randomly divided into three groups: control, food allergy (FA) and FA + DATS. The experimental groups were injected intraperitoneally with 0.2 mL sterile physiological saline containing 50 μg of OVA and 1 mg of Al(OH)3 on day 0 and day 14, and 50 mg of OVA (dissolved in 250 μL of sterile physiological saline) was intragastrically administered at one-day intervals for six consecutive times starting from the 28th day. Fluorescein-labeled dextran (fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran) was used to detect the permeability of the small intestine in mice; reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was used to detect the expression levels of Th2 type (T helper 2) cytokine interleukin-4 (IL-4), IL-5 and IL-13 in mouse jejunum tissue; enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure serum OVA-specific immunoglobulin E (OVA-sIgE) and mast cell protease 1 (mMCP-1) levels. Results: The FA + DATS group had a significantly lower incidence of diarrhea and a smaller decrease in body temperature than the FA group. Moreover, serum OVA-sIgE and mMCP-1 levels and Th2 type cytokine levels in jejunum were significantly reduced (P < 0.01 or 0.001), and food allergy symptoms and intestinal barrier were alleviated. Conclusion: Supplementation of DATS can enhance intestinal barrier function and effectively reduce the immune response of food allergy, thereby alleviating the symptoms of food allergy.

Key words: food allergy; intestinal barrier; diallyl trisulfide