{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,16]],"date-time":"2026-03-16T11:08:51Z","timestamp":1773659331230,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,16]],"date-time":"2026-03-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1773619200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy","award":["P0004707"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["P0004707"]}]},{"name":"Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy","award":["20008826"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["20008826"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder characterized by epidermal barrier dysfunction and dysregulated immune responses, particularly an imbalance between T helper type 1 (Th1) and type 2 (Th2) cytokines. Natural products with immunomodulatory activity have attracted increasing attention as potential strategies for regulating allergic inflammation. In this study, we investigated the immunomodulatory effects of bioprocessed black rice bran (BRB-F) and bioprocessed balloon flower root (BFR-F). In vitro assays using human B cells, mast cells, and keratinocytes were conducted to evaluate IgE production, mast cell degranulation, and epithelial inflammatory mediator release. The efficacy of the BRB-F:BFR-F mixture was further evaluated in BALB\/c mice with 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB)\/Dermatophagoides farinae extract (DFE)-induced AD-like dermatitis. BRB-F and BFR-F suppressed IgE production, attenuated mast cell degranulation and thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) release, and reduced keratinocyte-derived inflammatory mediators (thymus and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC), macrophage-derived chemokine (MDC), and IL-6). In mice, dietary supplementation with the BRB-F:BFR-F mixture (10\u201380 mg\/kg\/day) dose-dependently improved clinical skin lesions and histopathological changes, with serum IgE reduced by up to 87.1% at the highest dose. The treatment significantly suppressed Th2 cytokine mRNA expression in ear tissue (IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13) by 37.2%, 32.7%, and 34.0%, respectively, compared with the positive control. In contrast, splenic Th1 cytokine mRNA expression (IL-2, IL-12, and IFN-\u03b3) was partially restored by 37.1%, 22.5%, and 18.7%, respectively. These findings indicate that BRB-F and BFR-F modulate multiple immune pathways and help restore Th1\/Th2 immune balance, suggesting their potential as functional materials for regulating immune dysregulation associated with AD.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms27062691","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,16]],"date-time":"2026-03-16T10:10:43Z","timestamp":1773655843000},"page":"2691","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Bioprocessed Black Rice Bran and Balloon Flower Root Cooperatively Regulate IgE, Epithelial Signaling, and Th1\/Th2 Balance to Induce Therapeutic Response in a Mouse Model of Atopic Dermatitis"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"27","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-5646-0006","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kyung Hee","family":"Lee","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"STR Biotech Co., Ltd., Chuncheon 24232, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ki Sun","family":"Kwon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"STR Biotech Co., Ltd., Chuncheon 24232, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Woon Sang","family":"Hwang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"STR Biotech Co., Ltd., Chuncheon 24232, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Alan D.","family":"Friedman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-7423-0867","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Wha Young","family":"Lee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"STR Biotech Co., Ltd., Chuncheon 24232, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jeanman","family":"Kim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"STR Biotech Co., Ltd., Chuncheon 24232, Republic of Korea"},{"name":"College of Pharmacy, Ajou University, Suwon 16499, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sang Jong","family":"Lee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"STR Biotech Co., Ltd., Chuncheon 24232, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0973-8955","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sung Phil","family":"Kim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"STR Biotech Co., Ltd., Chuncheon 24232, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mendel","family":"Friedman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"U.S. Department of Agriculture, Western Regional Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, Albany, CA 94710, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"583","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(24)02519-4","article-title":"Atopic dermatitis","volume":"405","author":"Brunner","year":"2025","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Sroka-Tomaszewska, J., and Trzeciak, M. 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