Decolorized Aloe vera polysaccharide enriched preparations and their effects on human gastrointestinal cell lines

Abstract

Introduction: Aloe vera (A. vera) has been used as a folk remedy to treat different gastrointestinal and metabolic symptoms as well as for traditional therapeutic and topical cosmetic uses.It has been proposed that its benefits are based on aloe´s unique composition of phytochemicals, in particular the complex polysaccharides that are present in the gel. Commercial A. vera juice is purified to remove latex constituents (such as anthraquinones) via activated charcoal filtration (decolorization). Limited information is available regarding A. vera’s biological effects after decolorization on the gastrointestinal tract. Objective: To evaluate the effect of different polysaccharide-enriched decolorized preparations of A. vera (whole leaf -WL- or inner leaf -InL-) on two human cells lines: stomach gastric adenocarcinoma (AGS) and Intestinal Myofibroblast (InMyoFib) cells. We hypothesize that these enriched preparations will have beneficial effects in these gut cell models. M&M: Proliferation: Cell Proliferation Kit I (MTS, Cat. No: 11465007001-Roche-SIGMA-ALDRICH).Scratch studies: Quantification was carried out using ImageJ software (NIH, Bethesda, MD).Apoptosis: H2O2 and Cytokine mix-induced apoptosis was analyzed using cell death detection ELISA plus (Sigma Cat. No 11 774 425 001; Roche Cat. No 11 544 675 001).Statistics: ANOVA, repeated measured design. 5 independent experiments. Results: 6 different preparations were tested at 3 concentrations: 10, 50 and 100 ug/ml in all the experiments. Proliferation: None of the preparations induced cell proliferation in AGS and Inmyofib cells.; 2 InL and 1 WL preparation inhibited AGS and Inmyofib cell proliferation in comparation to the negative control. Wound healing: A significant improvement was induced by all fractions tested in both cell types. Preparations improved the percentage of wound healing in comparation with the negative control, one WL improved this parameter to levels similar to the positive control. Apoptosis: Four out of the six extracts protected cells from H2O2-induced apoptosis in both cell lines. In the case of the cytokine stimulation, AGS cells evoked a 55% increase over the negative control. None of the herbal extracts could revert/prevent apoptosis in this cell line. Conversely, cytokines evoked an 80% increase in apoptosis in Inmyofyb cells and Aloe preparations were largely effective in inhibiting this process. Conclusion: It has been proposed that A. vera gel has the ability to treat or protect gastric ulcers and to alleviate intestinal discomfort in both in animals and humans. These activities have been attributed to several possible mechanisms, including its anti-inflammatory properties, healing effects, mucus-stimulatory effects and regulation of gastric secretions. Here we show that decolorized A. vera polysaccharide-enriched preparations can modulate gastrointestinal cell lines. Conflict of Interest Disclosure: This work was funded by Herbalife Nutrition International of America, Inc. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2023 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.