Eficácia terapêutica da curcumina microemulsão nanoestruturada na colite ulcerativa induzida em ratos

Abstract

Background and Purpose: Study aiming to investigate the effect of nanostructured curcumin microemulsion in the treatment of experimental ulcerative colitis (UC) in rats. Methods: Colitis was induced by intracolonic instillation of 4% acetic acid (AAC). The animals were treated for seven days and randomly assigned to four groups: NC (control), colitis/control (AAC+SN), colitis/curcumin (AAC+CUR) and colitis/mesalazine (AAC+MES). Dosage of inflammatory cytokines and antioxidant enzymes, as well as macro and microscopic evaluation of the colons were analyzed. Results: The group treated with curcumin (AAC+CUR) had higher dosage of antioxidant enzymes, when compared to the AAC+MES group. There was a significant reduction in the levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF- α , IL-1 β and IL-6 in the colonic tissue of the animals in the AAC+CUR group, when compared with the AAC+SN and AAC+MES groups (p<0.001 ). The presence of mucosal ulcers (MU) in the group treated exclusively with acetic acid (AAC+SN) was significantly higher (p=0.001), compared to the mesalazine group (AAC+MES). In the control and curcumin-treated groups (AAC+CUR) there was no presence of ulcers in the colonic mucosa. Conclusion: Curcumin, used orally, in the nanostructured microemulsion formulation, positively influences the treatment of experimental colitis in rats. The results also suggest that nanostructured curcumin with negative electrical charge is a promising phytopharmaceutical delivery system for UC therapy. Future studies are needed to better clarify the mechanisms of the effects of nanostructured curcumin microemulsion in the treatment of UC.