Mahurin Honors College & Office of Scholar Development

Abstract

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic disease in humans that causes inflammation and ulceration of the inner lining of the colon and rectum. Approximately 5% of these patients develop colon cancer in the long term. Lack of effective treatments for patients with ulcerative colitis necessitates a search for the development of an effective alternative therapy. In an acute model, UC was induced in five groups (each of 5 replicates) of 10-week-old female C57BL/6 mice by DSS administration for 7 days. Plumbagin (PL) was administered via drinking water to four diseased groups @ 2-10 mg/Kg (body weight) for another 7 days. PL was replaced by regular water in control. Clinical symptoms (diarrhea, occult blood, anal bleeding, and body weight change) and the size of isolated colon were recorded for comparison between experimental and control groups. Groups receiving PL @ 4 and 6 mg/Kg (body weight) displayed remissions in clinical markers of the disease. The effect of PL was also examined in the acute model where administration of PL @ 8 and 10 mg/Kg (body weight) resulted in better amelioration in disease symptoms. Histopathological evaluation of the colon indicated less disruption of crypts and goblet cells in the mucosa with the above doses of PL. A marked reduction in the blood levels of inflammatory cytokines (IFN-γ, and IL-17) was also observed under these treatments.

Disciplines

Digestive System Diseases | Diseases | Medicine and Health Sciences

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