Prenylated flavonoid morusin protects against TNBS-induced colitis in rats

PLoS One. 2017 Aug 10;12(8):e0182464. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0182464. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

Morusin is a prenylated flavonoid isolated from the root bark of Morus alba. Many studies have shown the ability of flavonoids to act as anti-inflammatory agents. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of morusin on experimentally colitis induced by 2,4,6-trinitrobenzensulfonic acid in Wistar rats and to compare it with sulfasalazine, a drug conventionally used in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. Morusin was administered by gavage at doses of 12.5, 25, or 50 mg/kg/day for five days. The colonic tissue was evaluated macroscopically, histologically, and by performing immunodetection and zymographic analysis to determine the levels of antioxidant enzymes [superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT)], interleukin (IL)-1β, and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 and the activities of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) 2 and 9. The tissue damage scores were significantly reduced with increasing dose of morusin, however efficacy was not demonstrated at the highest dose. At the dose of 12.5 mg/kg, morusin exerted therapeutic effectivity similar to that of sulfasalazine (50 mg/kg). This was associated with significant reduction of TGF-β1 levels and MMP2 and MMP9 activities, and slight reduction of IL-1β. Our results suggest that morusin possesses therapeutic potential for the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Colitis / chemically induced
  • Colitis / enzymology
  • Colitis / prevention & control*
  • Colon / drug effects
  • Colon / enzymology
  • Colon / pathology
  • Flavonoids / pharmacology*
  • Male
  • Matrix Metalloproteinase 2 / metabolism
  • Prenylation
  • Rats, Wistar
  • Trinitrobenzenesulfonic Acid

Substances

  • Flavonoids
  • morusin
  • Trinitrobenzenesulfonic Acid
  • Matrix Metalloproteinase 2
  • Mmp2 protein, rat

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Internal Grant Agency of University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, project no. 310/2015/FaF (to ZV), and no. 313/2015/FaF (to MP), and by the grant of the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic (http://www.azvcr.cz) no. 16-27522A (to ZV and JH). All rights reserved.