Introduction: 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) is one of the most important products of the Millard reaction. Several kinds of foods and beverages produce high amount of 5-HMF. In the recent years, many profitable effects of this compound have been demonstrated. Because of the role of T helper cells cytokines in the inflammatory responses, this study sought to investigate the effects of 5-HMF on IFN-γ and IL-4 levels respectively as Th1 and Th2 cytokines in BALB/c mice immunized with ovalbumin (OVA).
 
Materials & methods: BALB/c mice (n=5 for each group) were grouped as follow:  control, vehicle, and two different treatment groups. The treatment groups received daily doses of 188 and 750 mg/kg body weight, respectively. The groups were immunized with OVA on days 7 and 28 except for the control. Interleukin 4(IL-4) and interferon gamma (IFN-γ) levels were measured in serum by ELISA.
 
Findings: IL-4 levels were significantly suppressed in 5-HMF treatment groups (P<0.001). IFN-γ levels were significantly lowered in the treatment groups (P<0.05).  Further, no significant difference was observed in IL-4 and IFN-γ levels between the treatment groups (P>0.05).
 
Discussion & conclusions: 5-HMF reduced production of selected components of Th1 and Th2 cytokine responses in immunized BALB/c mice.