Protective effect of cardamonin against acetic acid-induced ulcerative colitis in rats

Background ulcerative colitis (uc) is an inflammatory bowel disease with significant morbidity. cardamonin is a natural chalcone derivative with considerable anti-inflammatory activity. herein,the potential protective effect of cardamonin against uc was tested in a rat model. methods rats were given 10 or 30 mg/kg/day of cardamonin orally for 14 days before induction of uc. on the 14th day of treatment,uc was induced by intrarectal instillation of 2 ml 3% acetic acid. twenty four h after acetic acid instillation,rats were sacrificed and colons were analyzed by macroscopic and histopathological examination. colon lipid peroxidation was examined by biochemical evaluation of malondialdehyde (mda). myeloperoxidase (mpo),inos,nf-κb,tnfα levels were measured by elisa. moreover,caspase-3 and cox-2 were assessed by immunohistochemical analysis. results cardamonin at 10 and 30 mg/kg decreased the disease activity index and macroscopic damage index scores,and significantly reduced histopathological deterioration. additionally,cardamonin reduced levels of mpo,inos,nf-κb,tnfα and mda (p < 0.05). immunohistochemistry revealed down-regulation of cox-2 and caspase-3 in groups treated with cardamonin. conclusion cardamonin has a protective effect against acetic acid-induced colitis. this effect may be due to reducing inflammation,oxidative stress and apoptosis. © 2016