Knock Down Inflammation With Maple Syrup!

You might want to consider maple syrup in your morning café…a group of researchers from Université Laval in Quebec have found that arthritis and other inflammatory diseases might be helped by a molecule found in maple syrup.

According to the December 22, 2015 news release, “Discovered in 2011, quebecol is the result of chemical reactions during the syrup-making process that transform the naturally occurring polyphenols in maple sap. After successfully synthesizing quebecol and its derivatives, Université Laval researchers under the supervision of Normand Voyer, Ph.D., a chemist with the Faculty of Science and Engineering, evaluated its anti-inflammatory properties.”

Daniel Grenier, Ph.D., of the Faculty of Dentistry then developed an in vitro model for determining the anti-inflammatory potential of natural molecules. “We take blood cells called macrophages and put them with bacterial toxins, ” explained Professor Grenier. “Macrophages usually react by triggering an inflammatory response. But if the culture medium contains an anti-inflammatory molecule, this response is blocked.”

“The most powerful derivative has a simpler structure and is easier to synthesize than quebecol, ” said Normand Voyer. “This paves the way for a whole new class of anti-inflammatory agents, inspired by quebecol, that could compensate for the low efficacy of certain treatments while reducing the risk of side effects.”

The study’s coauthors were Sébastien Cardinal, Jabrane Azelmat, Daniel Grenier, and Normand Voyer. The work was published in a recent issue of the journal Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters.

Dr. Voyer told OTW, “The anti-inflammatory activity of maple syrup has been demonstrated, we were interested in figuring out which compounds from the syrup could be responsible for the activity. We had a polyphenol in hand, quebecol, and we used it as a starting point.”

“Interestingly, quebecol is indeed anti-inflammatory in our in vitro model. Polyphenols in general are known to possess some anti-inflammatory activity. However, more interesting is the fact that some derivatives of quebecol have more powerful anti-inflammatory activity.”

“This work is very preliminary and far from being ready for the clinic. However, it opens the door to the development of a potential new family of anti-inflammatory agents in the future. Also, the work demonstrated that maple syrup has significant nutritional value compared to other sweeteners. We are still pursuing our investigations.”