The Healing Effect of Aloe Vera Gel on Acetic Acid-Induced Ulcerative Colitis in Rat

Abstract

BACKGROUND The use of herbal and synthetic compounds can be effective in improving the areas and repair of tissues that have been affected during the processes like what happens in ulcerative colitis (UC) as a common inflammatory disorder. According to the beneficial effects of aloe vera, in this study, we aimed to assess the therapeutic effects of oral aloe vera gel on acetic acid-induced colitis in rats by histopathological and molecular analysis of Bax, and BCL-2 genes expression (using RT-PCR technique) in colon tissue samples. METHODS This experimental study comprised 32 adult male Sprague Dawley rats weighting 220 ± 20 g that were randomly divided into four groups as follows. The control group (healthy rats), colitis group in which UC was induced by transrectal administration of 3% acetic acid with no treatment, oral form of sulfasalazine group in which UC was induced by transrectal administration of 3% acetic acid, then was treated by oral administration of sulfasalazine 500 mg/kg body weight, and the fourth group which received oral form of aloe vera gel (200 mg / kg) for 21 days, respectively after induction of UC. Then, the therapeutic effects of treatment groups were compared with the control group and the colitis group with no treatment, by the assessment of histopathological and molecular changes in the colon tissues of rats on the 7th, 14th, and 21st days. Finally, the collected data were analyzed using statistical tests. RESULTS Histologically, aloe vera gel treatment could reduce and heal colon tissue damages in induced colitis. Also, this gel reduced apoptosis in rat’s colon with acetic acid-induced colitis, which showed in significantly decreased in Bax mRNA expression and significantly increased BCL-2 mRNA expression compared with the colitis group with no treatment. CONCLUSION Aloe vera gel has a significant effect on the treatment of UC in rat because of the beneficial effect that was found from aloe vera such as decreasing the severity of colitis as evidenced by histopathological findings, and with respect to apoptosis and gene expression that were related to wound healing process, and suppression of the elevation of Bax mRNA with the upregulation of Bcl-2, which can be considered effective in the treatment of UC.

Adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells ameliorate experimental acute colitis in rats

“…In addition to human studies, there are many in vivo studies on use of MSCs in treatment of UC in animal models. Various animals have been used as experimental model of UC and treatment of disease with MSCs including mouse in 39 studies 4,20 , rat in 13 investigations 4,21 , Guinea pig in one study 4,22 and dog in one study 23 . In our research, rat model has similarly been used for induction of colitis and AdSCs as a therapeutic approach with successful results of healing in colonic lesions.…”

Therapeutic Effect of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Ulcerative Colitis: A Review on Achievements and Challenges

“…BMSCs have been used by several researchers in the treatment of experimental colitis using various animal models, including mice, rats, and Guinea pigs (Table 4). In these animals, some researchers have used trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) to induce colitis [37,[65][66][67][68], while several studies reported the use of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) to induce colitis models [47,48,[68][69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78][79][80][81][82][83] and many authors applied acetic acid to induce colitis [1,3,4] (Table 4). The first BMSCs transplantation was conducted in 2006 in a TNBS-induced colitis mice model, revealing the important role of cell therapy in the repair of injured intestinal mucosa, as well as the downregulation of immune function of T cells [65].…”

“…Dynamic interactions between the gastrointestinal epithelium and the mucosal immune system result in intestinal homeostasis and optimal immunosurveillance, but a destabilization in these interactions among predisposed people can lead to development of chronic inflammatory diseases called inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which mainly covers Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) [1]. UC affects the rectum and may involve any part of the colon in a continuous pattern, whereas CD can affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract [2].…”

Anti-Inflammatory, Antioxidant, and Healing-Promoting Effects of Aloe vera Extract in the Experimental Colitis in Rats

“…In 2017, the healing effect of the aqueous leaf extract of Aloe vera in an animal model of experimentally induced colitis was investigated. The favorable effects confirmed through the significant reduction in Bax mRNA expression and elevation in Bcl-2 mRNA expression when compared with the colitis group without treatment [ 25 ]. In another study, 50 and 300 mg/kg of Aloe vera gel extract were used to evaluate the improvement in the symptoms of UC in rats.…”