NUTRACEUTICALS IMPROVE EXPERIMENTAL COLITIS: PLACE OF CATECHINS IN THE 2,4,6-TRINITROBENZENE SULFONIC ACID MODEL RATS

Background: Nutraceuticals provide added health benefits for inflammatory bowel disese (IBD) and Epigallocatechin-3-galate (EGCG), a green tea catechin, has been shown to possess such anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects. Aim: To evaluate the molecular modulation of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF_alpha), nuclear factor Kappa Beta (NF-Kbeta), Interleukin 6 (IL-6) by EGCG on experimental colitis. Matherial and Methods: Thirthy five male sprague-dawley rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: Normal control group (n=5), EGCG group (n=9), TNBS group (n=9), and TNBS + EGCG group (n=12). For both TNBS and EGCG treated groups, 1 mg/Kg EGCG was administered daily by intraperitoneal injection, starting one week before the induction. at days 3, 10, and 17, rats were sacrificed and the descending colon was collected. The mRNA expressions of IL-6, TNF-alpha and NF-KB were measured by the polymerase chain reaction. In addition, the oxidative stress wasstudied by determination of ROS expression using dihydroethinidine (DHE) staining. results: The results showed that EGCG caused a significant decrease in the mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6, TNF-alpha and NF-KB compared to respective non-treated groups. In addition, ROS expression was reduced. Conclusions: These data provide evidence that EGCG is beneficial in TNBS-induced colitis; it exerts an antioxidant activity via decreasing ROS, and an anti-inflammatory effect via ameliorating histological findings and reducing IL-6, TNF-alpha and NF-KB.