Curcumin-Loaded Microspheres Are Effective in Preventing Oxidative Stress and Intestinal Inflammatory Abnormalities in Experimental Ulcerative Colitis in Rats
Dana Hales,
Dana-Maria Muntean,
Maria Adriana Neag,
Béla Kiss,
Maria-Georgia Ștefan,
Lucia Ruxandra Tefas,
Ioan Tomuță,
Alina Sesărman,
Ioana-Adela Rațiu,
Alina Porfire
Affiliations
Dana Hales
Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Iuliu Haţieganu”, 41 Victor Babeș Street, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Dana-Maria Muntean
Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Iuliu Haţieganu”, 41 Victor Babeș Street, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Maria Adriana Neag
Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Clinical Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Iuliu Haţieganu”, 400337 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Béla Kiss
Department of Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Iuliu Haţieganu”, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Maria-Georgia Ștefan
Department of Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Iuliu Haţieganu”, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Lucia Ruxandra Tefas
Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Iuliu Haţieganu”, 41 Victor Babeș Street, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Ioan Tomuță
Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Iuliu Haţieganu”, 41 Victor Babeș Street, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Alina Sesărman
Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Centre for Systems Biology, Biodiversity and Bioresources (3B), Faculty of Biology and Geology, Babes-Bolyai University, 5-7 Clinicilor Street, 400006 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Ioana-Adela Rațiu
Department of Nephrology, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, University of Oradea, 410073 Oradea, Romania
Alina Porfire
Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Iuliu Haţieganu”, 41 Victor Babeș Street, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Curcumin’s role in the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC) has been proven by numerous studies, but its preventive administration, with the aim of reducing the remission episodes that are characteristic of this disease, must be further investigated. This study investigates the effects of a novel curcumin-loaded polymeric microparticulate oral-drug-delivery system for colon targeting (Col-CUR-MPs) in an experimental model of UC. Male Wistar rats (n = 40) were divided into five groups (n = 8), which were treated daily by oral gavage for seven days with a 2% aqueous solution of carboxymethylcellulose sodium salt (CMCNa) (healthy and disease control), free curcumin powder (reference), Col-CUR-MPs (test) and prednisolone (reference) prior to UC induction by the intrarectal administration of acetic acid (AA), followed by animal sacrification and blood and colonic samples’ collection on the eighth day. Col-CUR-MPs exhibited an important preventive effect in the severity degree of oxidative stress that resulted following AA intrarectal administration, which was proved by the highest catalase (CAT) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) levels and the lowest nitrites/nitrates (NOx), total oxidative status (TOS) and oxidative stress index (OSI) levels. Biochemical parameter analysis was supported by histopathological assessment, confirming the significant anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of this novel colon-specific delivery system in AA-induced rat models of UC. Thus, this study offers encouraging perspectives regarding the preventive administration of curcumin in the form of a drug delivery system for colon targeting.