The effect of berberine chloride on experimental colitis in rats in vivo and in vitro

Berberine is an isoquinoline alkaloid with multiple pharmacological actions, including anti-inflammatory activity. The aims of this study were to examine the effect of berberine on the mucosal healing process and to investigate whether berberine can inhibit the increased production of interleukin-8 in trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid-induced colitis in rats. Berberine was administered orally for 3 days or 1 week at a dosage of 7.5 or 15 mg/kg/day. Tissue damage scores, body weight, colon wet weight, and colon wall thickness were measured, and myeloperoxidase activity in colon tissue was also examined. Histological lesions, morphological damage, and myeloperoxidase activity were reduced after 1 week of treatment with berberine at a dosage of 15 mg/kg/day. Furthermore, 1 week after trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid treatment, the production of interleukin-8 by cultured rectal mucosa or cardiac blood mononuclear cells with or without stimulation of lipopolysaccharide for 24 h was also analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Cardiac blood mononuclear cells and rectal mucosa of normal rats produced substantial amounts of interleukin-8, which increased strikingly with the stimulation of lipopolysaccharide. Cardiac blood mononuclear cells and rectal mucosa of trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid-treated rats secreted more interleukin-8 than those of normal rats. The addition of berberine with a concentration of 10(-5) M to the culture media resulted in an inhibition of interleukin-8 production of rectal mucosa.