Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, University of Bologna, Via Tolara di Sopra n. 50, 40064 Ozzano dell'Emilia (BO), Italy.
Vetagro S.p.A., via Porro 2, 42124 Reggio Emilia, Italy.
Molecules. 2020 Sep 19;25(18):4296. doi: 10.3390/molecules25184296.
Bioactive compounds, such as organic acids (OA) and nature-identical compounds (NIC), can exert a role in the protection of intestinal mucosa functionality due to their biological properties. The aim of this study was to understand the role of 2 OA (citric and sorbic acid) and 2 NIC (thymol and vanillin), alone or combined in a blend (OA + NIC), on intestinal barrier functionality, either during homeostatic condition or during an inflammatory challenge performed with pro-inflammatory cytokines and lipopolysaccharides (LPS). The study was performed on the human epithelial cell line Caco-2, a well-known model of the intestinal epithelial barrier. The results showed how OA and NIC alone can improve transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) and mRNA levels of tight junction (TJ) components, but OA + NIC showed stronger efficacy compared to the single molecules. When an inflammatory challenge occurred, OA + NIC blend was able both to ameliorate, and prevent, damage caused by the pro-inflammatory stimulus, reducing or preventing the drop in TEER and improving the TJ mRNA expression. The data support the role of OA + NIC in modulating gut barrier functionality and reducing the negative effects of inflammation in intestinal epithelial cells, thereby supporting the gut barrier functionality.
生物活性化合物，如有机酸（OA）和天然等同物（NIC），由于其生物特性，可以在保护肠道黏膜功能方面发挥作用。本研究旨在了解 2 种 OA（柠檬酸和山梨酸）和 2 种 NIC（百里香酚和香草醛），单独或混合（OA+NIC），在稳态或在促炎细胞因子和脂多糖（LPS）进行炎症挑战时，对肠道屏障功能的作用。该研究在人肠上皮细胞系 Caco-2 上进行，这是一种众所周知的肠道上皮屏障模型。结果表明，OA 和 NIC 单独使用可以提高跨上皮电阻（TEER）和紧密连接（TJ）成分的 mRNA 水平，但 OA+NIC 比单一分子具有更强的功效。当发生炎症挑战时，OA+NIC 混合物既能改善，又能预防，由促炎刺激引起的损伤，降低或防止 TEER 的下降，并改善 TJ mRNA 的表达。这些数据支持 OA+NIC 在调节肠道屏障功能和减少肠道上皮细胞炎症的负面影响方面的作用，从而支持肠道屏障功能。
