Protective Effect of Aloe Vera Gel in Ulcerative Colitis: The Role of Inflammatory and Anti-Inflammatory Factors

Aim and Background: Anti-inflammatory compounds are effective in improving the symptoms of inflammatory bowel diseases such as ulcerative colitis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of aloe vera extract against the inflammatory factors affecting acetic acid-induced ulcerative colitis. Materials and Methods: 32 male Wistar rats are divided into 4 groups of 8 including: control group, untreated colitis group, colitis group treated with aloe vera (200 mg / kg/ day) and sulfasalazine group as a standard treatment (500 mg /kg/ day) from two days before induction of colitis to 5 days after induction of colitis. Experimental colitis was induced by intrarectal injection of 2 ml of 3% acetic acid. Rats were sacrificed on the eighth day of induction of colitis and some factors involved in inflammation, such as tumor necrosis factoralpha, interleukin-10, cyclooxygenase 2 (COX II) and PGE2 levels in colon tissue were measured. Results: Inflammation induced in colon by acetic acid injection. Sulfasalazine and aloe vera reduced the inflammatory factor (tumor necrosis factor alpha) and increased antiinflammatory factor (interleukin-10) in colon tissue. But they had no effect on the COX II and PGE2 levels in colon tissue. Conclusion: The results suggested that aloe vera could possibly improve colitis by suppressing inflammatory promoting factors and increasing anti-inflammatory factors.

目的与背景：抗炎化合物在改善炎症性肠病（如溃疡性结肠炎）的症状方面是有效的。本研究的目的是评估芦荟提取物对影响乙酸诱导的溃疡性结肠炎的炎症因子的作用。 材料与方法：32只雄性Wistar大鼠分为4组，每组8只，包括：对照组、未治疗的结肠炎组、用芦荟（200毫克/千克/天）治疗的结肠炎组以及作为标准治疗的柳氮磺胺吡啶组（500毫克/千克/天），从诱导结肠炎前2天到诱导结肠炎后5天。通过直肠内注射2毫升3%的乙酸诱导实验性结肠炎。在诱导结肠炎的第8天处死大鼠，并测量结肠组织中一些参与炎症的因子，如肿瘤坏死因子-α、白细胞介素 - 10、环氧合酶2（COX II）和前列腺素E2的水平。 结果：通过乙酸注射在结肠中诱导炎症。柳氮磺胺吡啶和芦荟降低了结肠组织中的炎症因子（肿瘤坏死因子 - α）并增加了抗炎因子（白细胞介素 - 10）。但它们对结肠组织中的COX II和前列腺素E2水平没有影响。 结论：结果表明，芦荟可能通过抑制促炎因子和增加抗炎因子来改善结肠炎。