Protective Effects of the Combination of the Herbal Compound Against Inflammation Related to Obesity and Colitis Induced by Diet in Mice

Abstract

Objective: High-fat diet (HFD) rises the susceptibility of both obesity and consequently Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). We designed a study to investigate the improving effects of herbal extract (HE, the combination of turmeric, ginger, boswellia, and cat’s claw extract) on the risk of high AGEs-fat diet 60% (HFD) mice induced colitis and obesity. Materials and Methods: Four-week-old C57BL/6 male mice after 2 weeks adaptation with normal diet were fed with either HFD or normal diets. After 6 weeks of being on diet, animals received HE for 16 weeks. Obesity index markers were determined as well as histological studies using H&E (Hematoxylin-eosin) staining. Colonic expression of IL-1β was determined. Data analysis was performed by utilizing Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney test for post-hoc comparisons, and SPSS (version 17.0) and GraphPad Prism Software (Version 8.0, USA). Results: HE decreased histological scores (by 6-fold) in HFD diet-fed mice, and reduced myeloperoxidase activity (by 2.2-fold), and ratio of colon weight to length (by 4-fold) in HFD diet-fed mice. Moreover, HE prevented intestinal permeability through the restoration of ZO-1 (by 4-fold) and immune homeostasis by modulation of IL-1β (by 2.4-fold) expression. Conclusion: HFD induced obesity-associated colitis. HE decreased the colitis symptoms in HFD diet-fed mice, with the reduction of inflammation.