Background: Prunus mume suppresses various diseases caused by inflammation response and exhibits antioxidant and free radical-scavenging activities. Therefore this study determined the effect of an aqueous P. mume (PM) extract in a mouse colitis model and investigated the value of biopolymer encapsulation, facilitating targeted delivery to the colon. Colitis was induced by administration of 30 g kg-1 dextran sulfate sodium to male BALB/c mice for 7 days prior to treatment with vehicle, 50 mg kg-1 PM extract or biopolymer-encapsulated PM extract, or 50 mg kg-1 sulfasalazine.
Results: Histological examination of the colon in BALB/c mice showed epithelial destruction and mucosal infiltration of inflammatory cells. These changes were attenuated in PM-treated mice, which had lower levels of inflammatory cytokines, cyclooxygenase 2 and immunoglobulins (IgA, IgM and IgE) compared with the vehicle-treated colitis group. The PM extract showed concentration-dependent radical scavenging and superoxide dismutase-like antioxidant activities.
Conclusion: These results indicated that the effects of the PM extract on colitis were not influenced by biopolymer encapsulation and that this PM extract could be a potential therapeutic agent for inflammatory bowel disease. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.
Keywords: Prunus mume; anti-inflammatory; antioxidant; biopolymer encapsulation; inflammatory bowel disease.
© 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.