Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are immunomediated ailments affecting millions of individuals. Although diet is regarded as an important factor influencing IBD, there are no accepted dietary recommendations presently available. We administered 7·6 % lyophilised apples obtained from two cultivars (Golden Delicious and Marie Ménard, low and high in polyphenols, respectively) to HLA-B27 transgenic rats which develop spontaneous IBD. After 3 months feeding, rats fed Marie Ménard apples had reduced myeloperoxidase activity (3·6 (sem 0·3) v. 2·2 (sem 0·2) U/g tissue; P < 0·05) and reduced cyclo-oxygenase-2 (P < 0·05) and inducible NO synthase gene expression (P < 0·01) in the colon mucosa and significantly less diarrhoea (P < 0·05), compared with control rats. Cell proliferation in the colon mucosa was reduced significantly by feeding Golden Delicious apples, with a borderline effect of Marie Ménard apples. Gene expression profiling of the colon mucosa, analysed using the Whole Rat Genome 4 × 44 K Agilent Arrays, revealed a down-regulation of the pathways of PG synthesis, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signalling and TNFα–NF-κB in Marie Ménard-fed rats. In the stools of the animals of this group we also measured a significant reduction of bacteria of the Bacteriodes fragilis group. In conclusion, the administration of Marie Ménard apples, rich in polyphenols and used at present only in the manufacturing of cider, ameliorates colon inflammation in transgenic rats developing spontaneous intestinal inflammation, suggesting the possible use of these and other apple varieties to control inflammation in IBD patients.