Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine ›› 2023, Vol. 43 ›› Issue (5): 925-933.DOI: 10.19852/j.cnki.jtcm.20230727.002

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Potential protective effects of the water-soluble Chinese propolis on experimental ulcerative colitis

ZHOU Hua1(), LI Hui2, WANG Haihua2()   

  1. 1 Department of Physiology, Anhui Medical College, Hefei 230601, China
    2 Department of Physiology, Wannan Medical College, Wuhu 241002, China
  • Received:2022-06-12 Accepted:2022-09-24 Online:2023-10-15 Published:2023-06-27
  • Contact: ZHOU Hua, Department of Physiology, Anhui Medical College, Hefei 230601, China. zhouhua@ahyz.edu.cn; Prof. WANG Haihua, Department of Physiology, Wannan Medical College, Wuhu 241002, China. 840099827@qq.com. Telephone: +86-13905605694
  • Supported by:
    Natural Science Foundation-funded Project of Anhui Province: Effects and Mechanism of Water-Soluble Propolis on DSS-Induced Acute Ulcerative Colitis in Rats(KJ2020A0860);Wang Jianhua Research and Innovation Team of Anhui Medical College: Water-Soluble Propolis Improves Ulcerative Colitis by Targeting NF-κB/FoxO3α Signaling Pathway(WJH202009t)

Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the outcome of Chinese water-soluble propolis (WSP) on the inflammatory response and oxidative stress (OS) of colonic mucosa in rats with ulcerative colitis.
METHODS: Dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) was employed to establish the ucerative colitis (UC) rat model. Forty-eight male rats were arbitrarily separated into six groups, namely control, UC, low-dose water-soluble propolis (L-WSP), medium-dose water-soluble propolis (M-WSP), high-dose water-soluble propolis (H-WSP), and sulfasalazine (Sulfa). In this study, we adopted a method of pre-administration and reconstruction of the model that assessed the water-soluble propolis mediated protection against DSS-induced UC rats. Moreover, we examined the body weight (BW), disease activity index (DAI), bloody stool, colon length, and intestinal mucosal injury index of rats. In addition, using enzyme linked immunosorbent assays, we assessed indicators, such as, colonic myeloperoxidase (MPO), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-9 (IL-9), tumor necrosis factor-ɑ (TNF-ɑ), superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde, and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) levels.
RESULTS: The pro-inflammatory cytokine expression, as well as OS, was increased in the model rats. However, upon WSP intervention, both pro-inflammatory cytokine levels and OS reduced dramatically, and the therapeutic effect was dose-dependent.
CONCLUSION: WSP downregulates OS by enhancing the function of endogenous antioxidant enzymes like SOD and GSH-Px, that inhibit neutrophil activity, as well as diminish pro-inflammatory cytokines like TNF-ɑ, IL-6, and IL-9, along with mechanisms that attenuate intestinal inflammation in UC rat model.

Key words: ulcerative colitis, natural products, oxidative stress, water-soluble propolis, pro-inflammatory cytokine

Cite this article

ZHOU Hua, LI Hui, WANG Haihua. Potential protective effects of the water-soluble Chinese propolis on experimental ulcerative colitis[J]. Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2023, 43(5): 925-933.