effect of artemisia vulgaris hydro-alcoholic extract on oxidative stress and inflammatory damages in a rat model of experimental colitis

Background: herbal medicines can be used as a possible therapeutic agent in inflammatory diseases. objectives: this study aimed to determine the effect of artemisia vulgaris(av) hydro-alcoholic extract on oxidative stress and inflammatory damage in an experimental rat model of colitis. methods: thirty male sprague-dawley rats were randomly divided into 6 groups: control, colitis, sulfasalazine, av50, av100, and av200. the animals of the av groups were treated with the hydro-alcoholic extract of a. vulgarisvia gavage for 72 h. body weight was measured at the beginning and end of the experiment. in the end, serum levels of malondialdehyde (mda) as a lipid peroxidation marker, antioxidants such as glutathione (gsh), superoxide dismutase (sod) activity, serum tumor necrosis factor-α (tnf-α), and nitric oxide (no) levels as inflammatory biomarkers were measured. macroscopic and microscopic damage in the rat's colon was also examined in histological studies. results: the a. vulgarisextract treatment dose-dependently improved colonic injury (p < 0.001 to p < 0.05) and body weight (p < 0.001) in colitis rats. moreover, it enhanced sod activity and gsh levels (p < 0.001) and reduced serum mda, tnf-α, and no levels (p < 0.001 to p < 0.01) in the rats with colitis. conclusions: treatment with a. vulgariscould mitigate ulcerative colitis (uc) symptoms, which is probably attributed to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.