The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of phenylpropanoid
glycoside,
teupolioside, biotechnologically produced by IRBN22 Ajuga reptans cell line, in rats subjected to experimental
colitis.
Colitis was induced in rats by intracolonic instillation of
dinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (
DNBS).
Teupolioside was administered daily orally (0.2 or 2mgkg(-1)). On Day 4, animals were sacrificed and tissues were taken for histological and biochemical analysis. Four days after
DNBS administration, colon
TNF-alpha and IL-1beta productions were increased, associated with colon damage. Neutrophil infiltration, by
myeloperoxidase activity, in the mucosa was associated with up-regulation of
ICAM-1 and
P-selectin and high levels of
malondialdehyde. Immunohistochemistry for
nitrotyrosine and
poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) showed an intense staining in the inflamed colon. Biochemical methods and zymography were used to analyze MMP-9 and -2 activities in colon tissues from
DNBS-injured rats. Treatment with
teupolioside significantly reduced the appearance of diarrhoea and the loss of
body weight. This was associated with a remarkable amelioration in the disruption of the colonic architecture and a significant reduction in colonic
myeloperoxidase activity and
malondialdehyde levels.
Teupolioside also reduced the pro-inflammatory
cytokines release, the appearance of
nitrotyrosine and PARP immunoreactivity in the colon and reduced the up-regulation of
ICAM-1 and the expression of
P-selectin. Therefore,
teupolioside also reduced
proMMP-9 and -2 activity induced in the colon by
DNBS administration. The results of this study suggested that administration of
teupolioside may be beneficial for treatment of
inflammatory bowel disease.