Thuja occidentalis mother tincture alleviate the COX-2 expression in intestinal mucosa of the TNBS-induced ulcerative colitis model in mice

 

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Article Title: Thuja occidentalis mother tincture alleviate the COX-2 expression in intestinal mucosa of the TNBS-induced ulcerative colitis model in mice
Authors: Căruntu S., Olah N. K., Balta C., Roșu M., Mlădin B., Hermenean A.
Affiliation: Faculty of Pharmacy, Vasile Goldis Western University of Arad, 86 Rebreanu, 310414 Arad, Romania
SC PlantExtrakt SRL, 407059 Radaia, Cluj, Romania
Institute of Life Sciences, Vasile Goldis Western University of Arad, 86 Rebreanu, 310414 Arad, Romania
Department of Histology, Faculty of Medicine, Vasile Goldis Western University of Arad, 86 Rebreanu, 310414 Arad, Romania
Abstract: Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) is a great concern worldwide. New drugs are continuously being developed and combined in order to manage the symptoms and treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC). Moreover, studies show a new approach on plant derived extracts to be used in the treatment of IBD, being less invasive and having less secondary effects. Our aim was to investigate the COX-2 activity level in colonic tissue, through the immunohistochemistry (IHC) technique, and thus prove the anti-inflammatory effect of Thuja occidentalis mother tincture (MT) in oral administration in corresponding doses (5, 25, and 50 mg/kg of body weight). The intra-rectal administration of TNBS resulted in an increase in cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression in comparison to control. The IHC results showed that the expression of COX-2 inflammatory marker decreased significantly following the oral administration of three doses of T. occidentalis MT (5, 25, and 50 mg/kg of body weight), in dose dependent manner.
Keywords: colitis, COX-2, anti-inflammatory, Thuja occidentalis MT
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