Protein-Free Diet Aggravates Food Allergy Response via the Consumption of Glycochenodeoxycholic Acid in a Murine Model

  • J Agric Food Chem. 2026 Jul 8;74(26):20633-20646. doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.6c03218.
Qiang Shi  1  2 Chuang Chen  1  2 Tianliang Bai  1  2 Shan Zhang  1  2 Yuhong Wu  1  2 Huan Wu  1  2 Haojie Luo  1  2 Yan Chen  1  2 Shuangyan Zheng  3 Xuanyi Meng  3 Yong Wu  3 Jinyan Gao  2 Zhongliang Wang  4 Hongbing Chen  1  3
Affiliations
  • 1. State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Resources, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330047, China.
  • 2. College of Food Science and Technology, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China.
  • 3. Sino German Joint Research Institute, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330047, China.
  • 4. School of Basic Medical Sciences, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China.
Abstract

Amino acid-based formulas (AAFs) are increasingly consumed in infants with food allergy (FA), while the effects of their long-term consumption on FA remain poorly known. This study investigated the effects of the long-term consumption of AAFs on FA by subjecting neonatal mice to an amino acid-based diet (AAD). Long-term consumption of AAD exacerbated allergic symptoms, Th2 responses, and mast cell activation and concurrently suppressed the differentiation of CD103+ DCs and Tregs in the MLN. Furthermore, integrated metabolomics and metagenomics analysis revealed that AAD induced intestinal microbiota dysbiosis and altered the systemic metabolome, characterized by a marked depletion of Bacteroides and glycochenodeoxycholic acid (GCDCA). Critically, oral supplementation with GCDCA effectively attenuated the FA response in AAD-fed mice. In summary, our findings suggest that long-term consumption of AAD aggravates FA via GCDCA depletion, which highlights the necessity to avoid the excessive use of AAFs and positions GCDCA supplementation as a promising therapeutic strategy for FA.

Keywords
amino acid−based diet; bile acids; food allergy; glycochenodeoxycholic acid; murine model; ovalbumin.
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