Effects of Aesculin on Mucosal Cytokines in Rats with Experimental Ulcerative Colitis / 广州中医药大学学报

ABSTRACT

Objective To study the preventive effect and mechanism of aesculin on intestinal mucosa in rats with experimental ulcerative colitis (UC) . Methods Forty specific-pathogen free SD rats were randomly divided into normal group, model group, salicylazosulfapyridine (SASP, 600 mg/kg) group and aesculin (EH, 100 mg/kg) group, 10 in each group. Rats in model group, SASP group and EH group were given enema with trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid ( TNBS, 100 mg/kg) for the establishment of UC model. The rats in SASP group and EH group were given gastric gavage of SASP and aesculin respectively. At the end of experiment, the serum levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha ( TNF-α) and interleukin 10 ( IL-10) were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) . The general state, histological features of intestinal mucosa and serum TNF-αand IL-10 levels of rats in each group were compared. Results Aesculin significantly improved the general state and relieved the inflammation of the colonic mucosa of UC rats. The disease activity index ( DAI) scores and tissue damage index (TDI) scores in the model group were significantly higher than those in the normal group ( P<0.01) . The DAI scores and TDI scores in the medication groups were significantly lower than those in the model group (P<0.01) . The serum TNF-αlevel was significantly higher and IL-10 level was significantly lower in the model group than the normal group ( P<0.01) . After treatment, TNF-α was decreased and IL-10 was increased in SASP group and EH group as compared with the model group (P<0.01) . Conclusion Aesculin has certain therapeutic effect on TNBS-induced UC in rats through significantly relieving the symptoms of UC rats. The mechanism may be related with the inhibition of TNF-α secretion and the increase of IL-10 expression, and then improving the disorder of intestinal immune function.