Composition and anti-colitis efficacy analysis of ethanol and aqueous extraction of Moringa oleifera leaves

Abstract

Moringa oleifera (MO)is a perennial tropical deciduous plant, its leaves (MOL) have both medicinal and edible values. Ulcerative colitis (UC) is characterized by recurrent and nonspecific intestinal inflammatory disease, and developing new treatment is still urgently needed. This study focused on the main composition and anti-colitis efficacy of crude ethanol and aqueous extraction of MOL (EEMOL & AEMOL). The results showed that EEMOL and AEMOL had similar contents and monosaccharide composition, while EEMOL had over three times more flavonoid content than AEMOL. Both EEMOL and AEMOL noticeably alleviated dextran sodium sulfate-induced murine UC by reducing the serious weight loss, disease activity index scores, colon shortening, and bloody diarrhea. EEMOL and AEMOL significantly inhibited the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway activation, reversed the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines mRNA and anti-apoptotic proteins, while safeguarded the intestinal structure and tight junctions. In addition, MOL extract restored gut microbiota dysbiosis to varying degrees in the colitis model. Overall, above findings revealed the protective effect of EEMOL and AEMOL on UC is mainly achieved via inhibiting inflammation and apoptosis, maintaining the intestinal barrier, and reversing the microbiota dysbiosis. These data illustrated that both EEMOL and AEMOL have the potential to be an alternative to UC.