The early phase of life represents a critical period for the development of an organism. Interestingly, early life experiences are able to influence the development of the gastrointestinal tract and the reactivity to colonic inflammatory stress. We recently demonstrated that adult male rats exposed to low doses of corticosterone during lactation (CORT-nursed rats) are protected against experime...

Opposing emotional events (negative/trauma or positive/maternal care) during the postnatal period may differentially influence vulnerability to the effects of stress later in life. The development and course of intestinal disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease are negatively affected by persistent stress, but to date the role of positive life events on these pathologies has been entirely ...

AIM To develop a colon-targeting bioreversible delivery system for β-boswellic acid (BBA) and explore utility of its prodrugs in 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced colitis in rats. METHODS Synthesis of 4 co-drugs of BBA with essential amino acids was achieved by CDI coupling, followed by their spectral characterization. In vitro kinetics were studied by HPLC in aqueous buffers...

AIM To investigate the change of nitric oxide (NO) in rat colitis and its inhibition by melatonin in vivo and in vitro. METHODS In vivo, rat colitis was established intracolonically with trinitrobenzenesulphonic acid (TNBS) and ethanol. The animals were randomised into five groups: control group, model group, melatonin group (2.5, 5.0, 10.0 mg/kg), and treated intracolonically with saline, sa...

BACKGROUND Gut-derived bacterial endotoxin is an important cofactor in the pathogenesis of IBD. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are essential for maintenance of peripheral tolerance and can prevent and alleviate IBD. To determine the immune modulatory effect of anti-LPS enriched hyperimmune colostrum, its ability to induce Tregs and alleviate immune mediated colitis. METHODS Immune-mediated coliti...

Inflammatory bowel disease is associated with increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) and decreased antioxidant response in the intestinal mucosa. Expression of the mitochondrial protein prohibitin (PHB) is also decreased during intestinal inflammation. Our previous study showed that genetic restoration of colonic epithelial PHB expression [villin-PHB transgenic (PHB Tg) mice] attenuated dextra...

BACKGROUND The tetracyclic triterpene euphol is the main constituent found in the sap of Euphorbia tirucalli. This plant is widely known in Brazilian traditional medicine for its use in the treatment of several kinds of cancer, including leukaemia, prostate and breast cancers. Here, we investigated the effect of euphol on experimental models of colitis and the underlying mechanisms involved in ...

BACKGROUND Curcumin displays a protective role in rat models of intestinal inflammation. However, the mechanism of how curcumin affects on intestinal inflammation is less known. The purpose of the current study is to explore the signal pathway in which the curcumin protecting rat from intestinal inflammation. METHODS The intestinal inflammation rat models were made by TNBS treatment. Curcumin...

The stem-bark of Kalopanax pictus (KP, family Araliaceae), of which main constituent is kalopanaxsaponin B, has been used for asthma, rhinitis, and arthritis in Chinese traditional medicine. To clarify anticolitic effect of KP, we examined anti-inflammatory effect of KP extract and kalopanaxsaponin B in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated peritoneal macrophage and 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic...