Protective effects of berberine on intestinal ischemia and reperfusion injury in rats

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the potential protective effects of berberine on ischemia and reperfusion (IR) injury in rats. Thirty male rats were randomly divided into three experimental groups as follows: the sham group, the IR group and the berberine+IR group. Intestinal ischemia-reperfusion was performed by occlusion of the superior mesenteric artery for 30 min, followed by 2-h reperfusion. The berberine+IR group of rats were administered 200 mg/kg of berberine once a day for 7 days before laparotomy. Compared with the IR group, rats pretreated with berberine prior to IR had significantly reduced intestinal ischemia/reperfusion injury and a significant reduction in Chiu?s score (p<0.05). The level of malondialdehyde and myeloperoxidase in the berberine+IR group was significantly decreased compared with the IR group (p<0.001). Superoxide dismutase activity in the berberine+IR group was significantly higher than in the IR group (p<0.001). Compared with the IR group, diamine oxidase was markedly decreased in the berberine+IR group (p<0.01). The level of secretory immunoglobulin A in the berberine+IR group was significantly increased when compared to the IR group (p<0.001). Our results suggest that berberine can protect from intestinal IR injury and that it can be beneficial in treating conditions associated with intestinal IR injury.