Protective Effects of the Combination of the Herbal Compound Against Inflammation Related to Obesity and Colitis Induced by Diet in Mice

Fatemeh  Azizian-Farsani; Navid Abedpoor; Maryam Derakhshan; Mohammad Hossein  Nasr-Esfahani; Mohammad Hasan Sheikhha; Kamran Ghaedi

doi:10.18502/ijdo.v14i1.8740

Fatemeh Azizian-Farsani Department of Medical Genetics, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
Navid Abedpoor Department of Cellular Biotechnology, Cell Science Research Center, Royan Institute for Biotechnology, ACECR, Isfahan, Iran.
Maryam Derakhshan Department of Pathology, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Mohammad Hossein Nasr-Esfahani Department of Cellular Biotechnology, Cell Science Research Center, Royan Institute for Biotechnology, ACECR, Isfahan, Iran.
Mohammad Hasan Sheikhha Department of Medical Genetics, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
Kamran Ghaedi Department of Cell and Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Faculty of Biological Science and Technology, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/ijdo.v14i1.8740

Keywords: Colitis, High-fat diet, Herbal extract, Inflammation

Abstract

Objective: High-fat diet (HFD) rises the susceptibility of both obesity and consequently Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). We designed a study to investigate the improving effects of herbal extract (HE, the combination of turmeric, ginger, boswellia, and cat’s claw extract) on the risk of high AGEs-fat diet 60% (HFD) mice induced colitis and obesity.

Materials and Methods: Four-week-old C57BL/6 male mice after 2 weeks adaptation with normal diet were fed with either HFD or normal diets. After 6 weeks of being on diet, animals received HE for 16 weeks. Obesity index markers were determined as well as histological studies using H&E (Hematoxylin-eosin) staining. Colonic expression of IL-1β was determined. Data analysis was performed by utilizing Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney test for post-hoc comparisons, and SPSS (version 17.0) and GraphPad Prism Software (Version 8.0, USA).

Results: HE decreased histological scores (by 6-fold) in HFD diet-fed mice, and reduced myeloperoxidase activity (by 2.2-fold), and ratio of colon weight to length (by 4-fold) in HFD diet-fed mice. Moreover, HE prevented intestinal permeability through the restoration of ZO-1 (by 4-fold) and immune homeostasis by modulation of IL-1β (by 2.4-fold) expression.

Conclusion: HFD induced obesity-associated colitis. HE decreased the colitis symptoms in HFD diet-fed mice, with the reduction of inflammation.