Nihad K. Abbas, Ali Hussien Saliem
Journal of Research in Pharmacy - 2025;29(6):2670-2682
It has been reported that apigenin has the ability to improve and ameliorate UC due to its role in protecting intestinal barrier and regulating gut microbiota. Present study aimed to assess the effect of apigenin and mesalazine in ulcerative colitis treatment in male mice in a case-control study conducted on 50 male laboratory mice, whose weight ranged from 25 -35 g and 6 -9 weeks old divided into 5 group . Group 1 : received water orally for 21 days and served as negative control group, Group 2 : received 2% dextran sulphate sodium (DSS) for 9 days to stimulate ulcerative colitis and served as a positive control group, Group 3 : received 2% DSS for 9 days then received apigenin (250 mg/kg. orally) once daily for 21 days, Group 4 : received 2% DSS for 9 days then received mesalazine (50 mg/kg. orally) once daily for 21 days and Group 5 : received 2% DSS for 9 days then received apigenin (125 mg/kg.orally) and mesalazine (25 mg/kg. orally) once daily for 21 days. Tests were conducted to assess the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) with the measuring of the ulceration score for all groups which showed that apigenin had a significant effect in reducing oxidative stress by reducing MDA and increasing GSH with an improvement in ulceration score with an improvement in the histological characteristics of the colon to levels comparable to those obtained with mesalazine and also similar to those with a combination of apigenin and mesalazine. From the foregoing results, it was concluded that apigenin has effect on ulcerative colitis in male m ice when used alone or with mesalazine.
