Abstract
The purpose of this study was to explore the protective effect of scutellarin on acute alcohol intestinal injury. Mice were divided into the administration group, control group and alcohol group. They were injected (i.p.) with SCU for 3 consecutive days. After the last administration, the alcohol intestinal injury model was established by intragastric at an interval of 1 h. After sacrifice, colon damage was evaluated by histopathological examination; biochemical kits were used to detect the activities of iNOS and CAT, and the content of MDA; the levels of inflammatory cytokines were determined by RT-qPCR. The results showed that alcohol induced severe destruction of the colon morphology, atrophy of the epithelium, and more lymphocytes in the submucosa. SCU treatment relieved this process, especially in the middle and high dose groups. Alcohol treatment caused excessive lipid peroxidation product accumulation of MDA and restrainted the activity of antioxidant enzyme CAT in the colon, while low dose SCU could significantly down-regulate the level of MDA and enhanced CAT. Alcohol stimulation triggered inflammatory response in colon through significantly upregulating iNOS activity and transcript levels of Tnf-α, Il-1β and Il-6 , and low dose SCU markedly attenuated this process. These data indicate that SCU has a protective effect on the colon through antioxidant and anti-inflammatory mechanisms being a promising drug against alcohol-induced colon damage.
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