Antioxidant therapy for treatment of inflammatory bowel disease: Does it work?

Abstract

Oxidative stress (OS) is considered as one of the etiologic factors involved in several signals and symptoms of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) that include diarrhea, toxic megacolon and abdominal pain. This systematic review discusses approaches, challenges and perspectives into the use of nontraditional antioxidant therapy on IBD, including natural and synthetic compounds in both human and animal models. One hundred and thirty four papers were identified, of which only four were evaluated in humans. Some of the challenges identified in this review can shed light on this fact: lack of standardization of OS biomarkers, absence of safety data and clinical trials for the chemicals and biological molecules, as well as the fact that most of the compounds were not repeatedly tested in several situations, including acute and chronic colitis. This review hopes to stimulate researchers to become more involved in this fruitful area, to warrant investigation of novel, alternative and efficacious antioxidant-based therapies.

Comparative Nephroprotective Effects of Silymarin, N-Acetylcysteine, and Thymoquinone Against Carbon Tetrachloride-Induced Nephrotoxicity in Rats

“…Another prior study revealed that TQ ameliorates the renal proliferative response due to mercury exposure in rats. TQ decreases histological damage such as renal cell apoptosis and proliferative reactions (26). While many studies have suggested that TQ is a nephroprotective agent, in the present study we further suggest that it has a higher nephroprotective effect than either NAC or silymarin.…”

Colonic and Hepatic Modulation by Lipoic Acid and/or N-Acetylcysteine Supplementation in Mild Ulcerative Colitis Induced by Dextran Sodium Sulfate in Rats

“…Hence, the presence of colonic ulcers, as a consequence of lipid peroxidation and protein damage and development of cancer, is due to DNA damage [4]. However, the cause of these symptoms and clinical manifestations is heterogeneous, varying according to the UC level: mild, moderate, or severe.…”

“…Among them, lipoic acid (LA) and N- acetylcysteine (NAC) stand out, which have been tested separately in UC [4], and in combination for other clinical conditions [11, 12], with positive results.…”

Phenolic content, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities of Anacyclus clavatus extracts

“…Antioxidants can reduce inflammation via the inhibition of pro-inflammatory mediators, as well as the increase of the anti-inflammatory mediator production (Costa et al 2013;Moura et al 2015).…”