Abstract
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease associated with intestinal epithelial barrier impairment. Polydatin (PD), a natural product isolated from Polygonum cuspidatum, is known to have an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antiapoptotic effect. We attempted to compare the protective impact of PD pretreatment on alterations to the intestinal epithelial barrier and the colonic wall's ultrastructure accompanying ulcerative colitis to other conventional drugs in practice, primarily L-carnosine, which has not been addressed before. The rats were divided into 5 groups; 3 of them were treated with sulphasalazine (500 mg/kg), L-carnosine (30 mg/kg), and PD (45 mg/kg). All groups were administered their respective drugs 3 days before the UC was induced by acetic acid intra-rectally, and the treatment was continued until the 11th day. The disease activity index (DAI) was estimated, and a macroscopic scoring was established for the harvested colonic tissue. The tissues were extracted and processed for hematoxylin and eosin staining, caspase-3 immunohistochemical staining, electron microscopy, and biochemical analysis evaluating proinflammatory markers (IL-1 beta, TNF-alpha, and IL-6), myeloperoxidase (MPO), oxidative stress, and lipid peroxidation. Histopathological examination of colonic tissue showed that PD pretreatment effectively restored mucosal epithelial cells, intercellular tight junctions, goblet cells, and maintained the intestinal epithelial and endothelial barriers. PD suppressed MPO, proinflammatory markers, and malondialdehyde but enhanced superoxide dismutase and glutathione levels. It also hampered apoptosis, as evidenced by a reduction in caspase-3 expression. PD showed a significantly better response in preserving the intestinal epithelial barrier against acetic acid-induced colitis as compared to sulphasalazine and L-carnosine. These findings demonstrate the therapeutic role of PD for patients with UC.