Multiple Mechanisms of Flaxseed: Effectiveness in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Amber Hanif Palla,Samra Bashir,Anwar-Ul-Hassan Gilani,Najeeb Ur Rehman

doi:10.1155/2020/7974835

Abstract

Materials and Methods Aqueous-methanolic crude extracts of Flaxseed (Fs.Cr) and Flaxseed oil were tested against 6% acetic acid- (AA-) induced colitis in BALB/c mice. Microscopic damage parameters of the hematoxylin and eosin-stained and periodic acid-Schiff-alcian blue-stained sections of the colon were scored to be assessed. Possible antispasmodic mechanism was studied on isolated rabbit jejunum, while antibacterial activity was assessed in vitro for microbes implicated in IBD. Results In AA-induced colitis, Flaxseed oil was found to be more effective in reducing mortality and colonic ulcers than Fs.Cr at 500 mg/kg dose. Fs.Cr was more efficacious in increasing mucin content as compared to oil, exhibiting slightly greater anti-inflammatory effect (50% vs 35%) and reducing depth of lesion (55% vs 42.31%, respectively). Antispasmodic activity of Fs.Cr (0.03 and 0.1 mg/ml) was mediated by phosphodiesterase inhibitors (PDEI, possibly PDE-4 subtype) with a resultant increase in cAMP levels. Flaxseed oil PDEI activity was mild (1 and 3 mg/ml). Fs.Cr (0.1 and 0.3 mg/ml) was potent in exhibiting anticholinergic activity, similar to dicyclomine, whereas Flaxseed oil showed anticholinergic effect at 1 and 3 mg/ml. Flaxseed oil (9 and 14 µg/ml) was bactericidal against enteropathogenic E.coli (EPEC), enterotoxigenic E.coli (ETEC), and enteroaggregative E.coli (EAEC), whereas Fs.Cr exhibited bactericidal effect against EPEC at 100 µg/ml. Conclusions Results of this study, taken together with previous studies, suggest that Flaxseed possesses anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antispasmodic action through multiple pathways and thus offers promising potential to be developed for IBD.

Highlights

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a heterogeneous disease in which multiple triggers act simultaneously. e major maneuvering targets in IBD are immune dysregulation, barrier, and microbial defects, along with abdominal spasms and colic as accompanying symptoms [1]
We provided some evidence for its traditional use by showing that the aqueous-methanolic crude extract of Flaxseed (Fs.Cr) ameliorated the severity in mice model of colitis by reducing mediators of inflammation and inducers of oxidative stress [4]. e extract that we studied comprised predominantly of polar components, whereas Flaxseed as a whole is a combination of both the polar and nonpolar constituents [5]. erefore, to gain an insight into the holistic potential of Flaxseed in IBD, one of the aims of the current study was to assess the effect of Flaxseed oil for its effectiveness against IBD model of mice and, subsequently, compare these parameters with Fs.Cr
Knowing that antispasmodics have an important role in IBD therapeutics as an adjunctive therapy [1], we aimed to explore the precise mode of antispasmodic mechanisms of Flaxseed using isolated gut tissues from experimental animals

Summary

Introduction

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a heterogeneous disease in which multiple triggers act simultaneously. e major maneuvering targets in IBD are immune dysregulation, barrier, and microbial defects, along with abdominal spasms and colic as accompanying symptoms [1]. Erefore, to gain an insight into the holistic potential of Flaxseed in IBD, one of the aims of the current study was to assess the effect of Flaxseed oil (nonpolar constituents) for its effectiveness against IBD model of mice and, subsequently, compare these parameters with Fs.Cr. Knowing that antispasmodics have an important role in IBD therapeutics as an adjunctive therapy [1], we aimed to explore the precise mode of antispasmodic mechanisms of Flaxseed (both the extract and oil) using isolated gut tissues from experimental animals. The possibility of other potential mechanisms was there as the inhibitory effect in isolated jejunal tissues against carbachol- (CCh, 1 μM) induced contractions was not studied, which can help in identifying the presence of anticholinergic and/or phosphodiesterase inhibitory mechanisms [8, 9], both of which have potential for IBD therapeutics [10, 11]

Objectives

Methods

Conclusion