The Role of Vegetables in the cause, remission and regression of Crohn’s Disease in an Auckland Cohort

Abstract

Crohn’s disease is one of the two main expressions of inflammatory bowel disease. Nutrients play a key role in the nutrigenomic and epigenetic regulation of the genes in this disorder. Vegetables, particularly Brassicaceae supply valuable nutrients. They are often avoided by people with Crohn’s disease because of adverse effects perceived to have on symptoms. An investigation on the influence of vegetables, particularly Brassicaceae, on people with Crohn’s disease was conducted. The analysis was based on the responses and genetic material of adult subjects in the ‘Genes and Diet in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Study’ based in Auckland, NZ. The key nutrients from Brassicaceae were identified. In addition, associations between the SNPs of candidate genes and the beneficial or adverse effects of the ten most commonly eaten Brassicaceae were analysed. An analysis of the micronutrient serum selenium levels was also conducted and a gene-serum selenium interaction analysis with Crohn’s disease was completed on 29 SNPs of seven genes which are associated with genes coding for selenoproteins. Nutrient analysis of the Brassicaceae showed their important contribution of fibre, vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals, especially glucosinolates. Our study revealed that over 70% of respondents found that the consumption of broccoli, Chinese greens and rocket made no difference to their Crohn’s disease. Analysis of the SNPs from the NZ Nutrigenomics database showed 64 SNPs clearly identified with adverse effects (p = 0.00097 to 0.0497), from eating the selected Brassicaceae and 37 SNPs strongly identified with beneficial effects (p = 7.51e-05 to 0.049). Analysis of the Illumina immunochip data revealed a further three SNPs identified with adverse effects (p = 7.94E-09 to 3.84E-07) and a further 157 SNPs with beneficial effects (p = 1.57e-15 to 3.54e-07). Evaluation of the GSTT1 genotype association with the consumption of Brassicaceae revealed statistically significant genotypic differences linked to the tolerance of three varieties of Brassicaceae. Analysis of the micronutrient selenium serum levels showed that a low level (<100ng/ml) was significantly associated with Crohn’s disease. The analysis of 29 SNPs for the gene-serum selenium interaction with Crohn’s disease revealed three SNPs were significant from two genes coding for selenoproteins namely SEPHS1 (rs17529609, rs7901303) and SEPSECS (rs1553153). Personalised nutrition can contribute to the improvement of outcomes for Crohn’s disease.