Anti-inflammatory activity of Ziziphus jujuba hydroalcoholic extract in acetic acid-induced ulcerative colitis model

Shabnam Bahrami; Nahid Babaei; Hadi Esmaeili Gouvarchin Ghaleh; Jaleh Mohajeri Borazjani; Mahdieh Farzanehpour

doi:10.1515/jcim-2024-0178

Article

Anti-inflammatory activity of Ziziphus jujuba hydroalcoholic extract in acetic acid-induced ulcerative colitis model

Shabnam Bahrami , Nahid Babaei , Hadi Esmaeili Gouvarchin Ghaleh , Jaleh Mohajeri Borazjani and Mahdieh Farzanehpour

Published/Copyright: November 4, 2024

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From the journal Journal of Complementary and Integrative Medicine Volume 21 Issue 4

Abstract

Objectives

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a common gastrointestinal (GI) disorder characterized by chronic inflammation. Current treatments primarily focus on symptom management, but they have inherent limitations. Global attention is increasingly directed towards exploring herbal remedies as complementary approaches. This study aims to investigate the effects of the hydroalcoholic extract of jujuba on an experimental model of ulcerative colitis.

Methods

In this study, 15 male BALB/c mice were divided into three experimental groups. The first group served as the untreated UC model, acting as the positive control (PC). The second group received treatment with the hydroalcoholic extract of Ziziphus jujuba, while the third group was treated with mesalamine. UC was induced by injecting 100 μL of 4 % acetic acid (AA) intra-rectally several times. Treatment commenced after the onset of symptoms such as diarrhea and bloody stools. The mice were eventually euthanized ethically, and their spleen and intestinal tissues were collected for analysis. Evaluations included the Disease Activity Index (DAI), myeloperoxidase activity (MPO), nitric oxide (NO) levels, cytokine levels (IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α), and gene expression (iNOS, COX-2, and cytokines).

Results

The hydroalcoholic extract of the jujuba plant significantly reduced MPO, NO, the DAI, and the production and expression of inflammatory cytokines, as well as the genes iNOS and COX-2, in the group receiving this extract compared to the positive control group (p<0.05).

Conclusions

The study demonstrates that the hydroalcoholic extract of Ziziphus jujuba significantly reduces inflammation markers such as TNF-α, NO, MPO, IL-1β, and IL-6 in a mouse model of ulcerative colitis. Additionally, it downregulates the expression of pro-inflammatory genes, including iNOS and COX-2. These findings suggest that Z. jujuba extract has potential as an effective anti-inflammatory treatment for managing ulcerative colitis symptoms.

Keywords: ulcerative colitis; Ziziphus jujuba ; mesalamine; inflammation; cytokines; phytomedicine

Corresponding authors: Dr. Hadi Esmaeili Gouvarchin Ghaleh, Assistant Professor, Department of Immunology, Applied Virology Research Center, Biomedicine Technologies Institute, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, E-mail: h.smaili69@yahoo.com; and Dr. Nahid Babaei, Assistant Professor, Department of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Bushehr Branch, Islamic Azad University, Bushehr, Iran, E-mail: nahid.babaei@iau.ac.ir

Acknowledgments

This manuscript is part of Ms. Shabnam Bahrami’s doctoral dissertation. The authors express their utmost gratitude and appreciation to all those who assisted us in this research.

Research ethics: Animal manipulations were approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences (BMSU) under the approval number IR.BMSU.AEC.1400.001.
Informed consent: Not applicable.
Author contributions: ShB, NB, HEGG, JMB, MF: developed the theoretical formalism, performed the analytic calculations and performed the numerical simulations. Authors contributed to the final version of the manuscript. HEGG and NB: supervised the project.
Use of Large Language Models, AI and Machine Learning Tools: None declared.
Conflict of interest: The authors have no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.
Research funding: The authors declare that no funds, grants, or other support was received during the preparation of this manuscript.
Data availability: The data sets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Received: 2024-07-12

Accepted: 2024-09-23

Published Online: 2024-11-04

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Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/jcim-2024-0178

Keywords for this article

ulcerative colitis; Ziziphus jujuba; mesalamine; inflammation; cytokines; phytomedicine