Antimicrobial Activity of Brassica rapa L. Flowers Extract on Gastrointestinal Tract Infections and Antiulcer Potential Against Indomethacin-Induced Gastric Ulcer in Rats Supported by Metabolomics Profiling

Badriyah Alotaibi; Fatma Alzahraa Mokhtar; Thanaa A El-Masry; Engy Elekhnawy; Sally A Mostafa; Dalia H Abdelkader; Mohamed E Elharty; Asmaa Saleh; Walaa A Negm

doi:10.2147/JIR.S345780

Antimicrobial Activity of Brassica rapa L. Flowers Extract on Gastrointestinal Tract Infections and Antiulcer Potential Against Indomethacin-Induced Gastric Ulcer in Rats Supported by Metabolomics Profiling

J Inflamm Res. 2021 Dec 29:14:7411-7430. doi: 10.2147/JIR.S345780. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, 84428, Saudi Arabia.
² Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, ALsalam University, Al Gharbiyah, Egypt.
³ Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tanta University, Tanta, 31111, Egypt.
⁴ Pharmaceutical Microbiology Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tanta University, Tanta, 31111, Egypt.
⁵ Department of Medical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura, 35511, Egypt.
⁶ Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tanta University, Tanta, 31111, Egypt.
⁷ Study Master in Pharmaceutical Science at the Institute of Research and Environmental Studies, El Sadat City, Egypt.
⁸ Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Al Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt.
⁹ Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tanta University, Tanta, 31111, Egypt.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Introduction: The gastrointestinal tract (GIT) is vulnerable to various diseases. In this study, we explored the therapeutic effects of Brassica rapa flower extract (BRFE) on GIT diseases.

Methods: Liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) was used for phytochemical identification of the compounds in BRFE. The antibacterial activity of BRFE was investigated, and its impact on the bacterial outer and inner membrane permeability and membrane depolarization (using flow cytometry) was studied. In addition, the immunomodulatory activity of BRFE was investigated in vitro on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Furthermore, the anti-inflammatory activity of BRFE was investigated by histopathological examination and qRT-PCR on indomethacin-induced gastric ulcers in rats.

Results and discussion: LC-ESI-MS/MS phytochemically identified 57 compounds in BRFE for the first time. BRFE displayed antibacterial activity against bacteria that cause GIT infections, with increasing outer and inner membrane permeability. However, membrane depolarization was unaffected. BRFE also exhibited immunomodulatory activity in LPS-stimulated PBMCs by attenuating the upregulation of cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) gene expression compared with untreated LPS-stimulated PBMCs. In addition, BRFE exhibited anti-inflammatory activity required for maintaining gastric mucosa homeostasis by decreasing neutrophil infiltration with subsequent myeloperoxidase production, in addition to an increase in glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity. Histopathological findings presented the gastroprotective effects of BRFE, as a relatively normal stomach mucosa was found in treated rats. In addition, BRFE modulated the expression of genes encoding IL-10, NF-κB, GPx, and myeloperoxidase (MPO).

Conclusion: BRFE can be a promising source of therapeutic agents for treatment of GIT diseases.

Keywords: GIT diseases; LC-MS/MS; antioxidant activity; flow cytometry; immunomodulatory activity; qRT-PCR.

Grants and funding

This work was funded by the Deanship of Scientific Research at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, through the Research Groups Program Grant no. (RGP-1440-0022) (2).