Treatment of colitis by oral negatively charged nanostructured curcumin in rats

To examine the effects of a negatively charged nanostructured curcumin microemulsion in experimental ulcerative colitis (UC) in rats.

Four percent acetic acid was used to induce UC. The animals were treated for seven days and randomly assigned to four groups: normal control (NC), colitis/normal saline (COL/NS), colitis/curcumin (COL/CUR), and colitis/mesalazine (COL/MES). The nanostructured curcumin was formulated with a negative zeta potential (-16.70 ± 1.66 mV). Dosage of the pro-inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin 1-β (IL-1β), interleukin 6 (IL-6), and antioxidant enzymes (catalase, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione peroxidase), macro and microscopic evaluation of the colon tissue were analyzed.

The COL/CUR group had a higher level of antioxidant enzymes compared to the COL/MESgroup. The levels of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 were significantly lower in the colonic tissue of the COL/CUR group rats, when compared to the COL/NS and COL/MES groups (p < 0.001). The presence of ulcers in the colonic mucosa in rats of the COL/NSgroup was significantly higher than in the COL/MES group (p < 0.001). In the NC and COL/CUR groups, there were no ulcers in the colonic mucosa.

The nanostructured microemulsion of curcumin, used orally, positively influenced the results of the treatment of UC in rats. The data also suggests that nanostructured curcumin with negative zeta potential is a promising phytopharmaceutical oral delivery system for UC therapy. Further research needs to be done to better understand the mechanisms of the negatively charged nanostructured curcumin microemulsion in UC therapy.