Pinocembrin Protects Against Dextran Sulfate Sodium-Induced Rats Colitis by Ameliorating Inflammation, Improving Barrier Function and Modulating Gut Microbiota

In this study, a dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced rats ulcerative colitis model (3.5 % DSS in drinking water for 7 days) was applied to explore the protective effects of PIN on macroscopic colitis symptoms, inflammation, intestinal epithelial barrier function, and gut microbiota homeostasis. While DSS-treated rats showed severe colitis clinical symptoms and histological changes (colonic pathological damages and intestinal goblet cells loss), pre-administration of PIN (5 and 10 mg/kg, p.o.) for a week alleviated these symptoms. Pre-administration of PIN also suppressed the pro-inflammatory gene expressions and improved tight junction functions of colonic epithelial cells. Additionally, PIN administration reversed DSS-induced short chain fatty acid (SCFA) loss, and improved cecal digestion by increasing the gut microbial diversity assessed by 16S rRNA phylogenetic sequencing. Overall, our results suggest a wide spectrum of protective effects of PIN in preventing inflammatory bowel diseases.
Source: Frontiers in Physiology - Category: Physiology Source Type: research