Egg white hydrolysate from simulated gastrointestinal digestion alleviates the inflammation and improves the nutritional status in TNBS-induced Crohn’s disease rats

Abstract

• EWH reduced the body weight loss and increased food intake of CD rats. • EWH ameliorated the disease activity and colon damage of CD rats. • EWH reduced the level of inflammation in the colon of CD rats. • EWH increased the expression of tight junction proteins of the colon of CD rats. • EWH improved the nutritional status in the plasma of CD rats. This paper aimed to investigate the amelioration of egg white hydrolysate (EWH) in Crohn’s disease. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were rectally administrated tri­nitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) (100 mg/kg) at day 0 to induce CD and then intragastrically administrated saline (model group, n = 8) or EWH (1 g/kg) (EWH group, n = 8) for four weeks. Results showed that the EWH group had higher food intake, lower body weight loss, and colonic histopathological damage compared with the model group ( P < 0.05). In addition, the pro-inflammatory interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-12, IL-17A, IL-23, and tumor necrosis factor-α were decreased but the anti-inflammatory IL-10 was increased in the EWH group ( P < 0.05). Moreover, EWH improved the expressions of tight junction proteins in the colon and the levels of total protein, albumin, prealbumin, hemoglobin, transferrin, and lymphocyte count in the serum ( P < 0.05). It implies the potential of EWH as an ingredient of functional foods in the prevention and management of CD.