Healthy Properties of a New Formulation of Pomegranate-Peel Extract in Mice Suffering from Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis
Giulia Vallarino,
Annalisa Salis,
Elena Lucarini,
Federica Turrini,
Guendalina Olivero,
Alessandra Roggeri,
Gianluca Damonte,
Raffaella Boggia,
Lorenzo Di Cesare Mannelli,
Carla Ghelardini,
Anna Pittaluga
Affiliations
Giulia Vallarino
Department of Pharmacy, University of Genoa, Viale Cembrano, 4 I, 16148 Genoa, Italy
Annalisa Salis
Department of Experimental Medicine, Section of Biochemistry, University of Genova, Viale Benedetto XV 1, 16132 Genoa, Italy
Elena Lucarini
Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research and Child Health, Neurofarba, Pharmacology and Toxicology Section, University of Florence, Viale Pieraccini 6, 50139 Florence, Italy
Federica Turrini
Department of Pharmacy, University of Genoa, Viale Cembrano, 4 I, 16148 Genoa, Italy
Guendalina Olivero
Department of Pharmacy, University of Genoa, Viale Cembrano, 4 I, 16148 Genoa, Italy
Alessandra Roggeri
Department of Pharmacy, University of Genoa, Viale Cembrano, 4 I, 16148 Genoa, Italy
Gianluca Damonte
Department of Experimental Medicine, Section of Biochemistry, University of Genova, Viale Benedetto XV 1, 16132 Genoa, Italy
Raffaella Boggia
Department of Pharmacy, University of Genoa, Viale Cembrano, 4 I, 16148 Genoa, Italy
Lorenzo Di Cesare Mannelli
Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research and Child Health, Neurofarba, Pharmacology and Toxicology Section, University of Florence, Viale Pieraccini 6, 50139 Florence, Italy
Carla Ghelardini
Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research and Child Health, Neurofarba, Pharmacology and Toxicology Section, University of Florence, Viale Pieraccini 6, 50139 Florence, Italy
Anna Pittaluga
Department of Pharmacy, University of Genoa, Viale Cembrano, 4 I, 16148 Genoa, Italy
A new formulation of a pomegranate-peel extract (PEm) obtained by PUAE (Pulsed Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction) and titrated in both ellagic acid (EA) and punicalagin is proposed, characterized and then analyzed for potential health properties in mice suffering from the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). PEm effects were compared to those elicited by a formulation containing EA (EAm). Control and EAE mice were chronically administered EAm and Pem dissolved in the drinking water, starting from the day 10 post-immunization (d.p.i.), with a “therapeutic” protocol to deliver daily 50 mg/kg of EA. Treated EAE mice did not limit their daily access to the beverage, nor did they show changes in body weight, but they displayed a significant amelioration of “in vivo” clinical symptoms. “Ex vivo” histochemical analysis showed that spinal-cord demyelination and inflammation in PEm and EAm-treated EAE mice at 23 ± 1 d.p.i. were comparable to those in the untreated EAE animals, while microglia activation (measured as Ionized Calcium Binding Adaptor 1, Iba1 staining) and astrocytosis (quantified as glial fibrillar acid protein, GFAP immunopositivity) significantly recovered, particularly in the gray matter. EAm and PEm displayed comparable efficiencies in controlling the spinal pathological cellular hallmarks in EAE mice, and this would support their delivery as dietary supplementation in patients suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS).
