Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, Menoufia University, Menoufia, Egypt; Department of Basic Sciences, College of Medicine, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, KSA, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, Menoufia University, Menoufia, Egypt.
Biomed Pharmacother. 2019 Mar;111:841-851. doi: 10.1016/j.biopha.2019.01.001. Epub 2019 Jan 4.
Ulcerative colitis is a common intestinal inflammatory disease characterized by upregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress. Zeaxanthin is a nutritional carotenoid that belongs to the xanthophyll family of pigments. It exerts potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidative effects. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of zeaxanthin on acetic acid-induced ulcerative colitis in rats. Rats were randomly categorized into five groups: control, zeaxanthin, acetic acid, acetic acid + zeaxanthin, and acetic acid + prednisolone groups. Zeaxanthin (50 mg/kg/day) or prednisolone (5 mg/kg/day) was orally administered for 14 days before induction of ulcerative colitis. On the 15th day, colitis was induced by transrectal administration of 3% acetic acid. The rats were sacrificed 24 h after rectal instillation and their colon tissues were examined. Pretreatment with zeaxanthin significantly reduced disease activity index, wet colon weight, ulcer area, macroscopic scores, and histological changes. Zeaxanthin also effectively downregulated the levels of myeloperoxidase and malondialdehyde, upregulated the enzymatic activity of superoxide dismutase and catalase, and raised glutathione levels. With regard to anti-inflammatory mechanisms, zeaxanthin suppressed tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interferon-gamma, interleukin-6, interleukin-1 beta, and nuclear transcription factor kappa B levels, and inhibited nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2 protein expression. Our results indicate that oral administration of zeaxanthin ameliorates acetic acid-induced colitis in rats via antioxidative effects and modulation of pro-inflammatory cytokine and mediator activity. Therefore, zeaxanthin may be an effective therapeutic candidate for the treatment of ulcerative colitis.
溃疡性结肠炎是一种常见的肠道炎症性疾病，其特征为促炎细胞因子和氧化应激的上调。叶黄素是一种营养类胡萝卜素，属于类胡萝卜素家族的色素。它具有强大的抗炎和抗氧化作用。本研究旨在评估叶黄素对乙酸诱导的大鼠溃疡性结肠炎的影响。大鼠随机分为五组：对照组、叶黄素组、乙酸组、乙酸+叶黄素组和乙酸+泼尼松龙组。在诱导溃疡性结肠炎前，叶黄素（50mg/kg/天）或泼尼松龙（5mg/kg/天）经口给药 14 天。第 15 天，通过直肠给予 3%乙酸诱导结肠炎。直肠给药后 24 小时处死大鼠，检查其结肠组织。叶黄素预处理显著降低了疾病活动指数、湿结肠重量、溃疡面积、宏观评分和组织学变化。叶黄素还有效下调了髓过氧化物酶和丙二醛水平，上调了超氧化物歧化酶和过氧化氢酶的酶活性，并提高了谷胱甘肽水平。关于抗炎机制，叶黄素抑制了肿瘤坏死因子-α、干扰素-γ、白细胞介素-6、白细胞介素-1β和核转录因子 kappa B 水平，并抑制了一氧化氮合酶和环氧化酶-2 蛋白表达。我们的结果表明，叶黄素通过抗氧化作用和调节促炎细胞因子和介质活性，改善了乙酸诱导的大鼠结肠炎。因此，叶黄素可能是治疗溃疡性结肠炎的有效治疗候选药物。
