beta-carotene and Colitis--Ulcerative

Nutrition may play an important role in the pathogenesis and treatment of ulcerative colitis. Several studies suggest an association between dietary factors and the onset of ulcerative colitis; however, only few studies have examined the relationship between dietary intake and relapse of ulcerative colitis. The aim of this study was to assess the dietary intake and antioxidative capacity of ulcerative colitis patients and to elucidate the efficacy of dietary therapy for ulcerative colitis. Dietary intake, fatty acid composition of phospholipids in plasma and neutrophils, serum fat-soluble vitamin levels, and oxygen radical absorbance capacity were analyzed in 29 ulcerative colitis patients (7 males and 22 females), who were treated at the Department of Gastroenterology, Okayama University Hospital. Total fat intake, fat energy ratio and linoleic acid intake were significantly lower, while protein and carbohydrate intakes were significantly higher, in the patients than age- and sex-matched controls. In the neutrophil phospholipids of ulcerative colitis patients, significantly higher levels of linoleic aicd and arachidonic acid and a lower level of eicosapentaenoic acid were observed. The concentrations of serum retinol and beta-carotene but not alpha-tocopherol were significantly lower and serum oxygen radical absorbance capacity was also lower than in the controls. Significant correlations between serum oxygen radical absorbance capacity and retinol (r = 0.567, p = 0.0031), alpha-tocopherol (r = 0.560, p = 0.0036) and beta-carotene (r = 0.440, p = 0.0279) concentrations were observed in the ulcerative colitis patients. A diet restricting the intake of linoleic acid and supplemented with eicosapentaenoic acid and antioxidative vitamins may be recommendable for the nutritional management of ulcerative colitis patients.

Topics: Adult; Albumins; alpha-Tocopherol; Antioxidants; beta Carotene; Colitis, Ulcerative; Diet; Diet Records; Fatty Acids; Female; Humans; Male; Neutrophils; Phospholipids; Proteins; Reactive Oxygen Species; Vitamin A; Vitamins

β-Carotene displays antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities and prevents the development of cancer. Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a kind of inflammatory bowel disease that is accompanied by a certain risk of colon cancer. However, the role of β-carotene in the modulation of gut microbiota and UC improvement is unclear. In this research, the properties of β-carotene on anti-inflammatory and the composition of gut microbiota were evaluated in a rat model of UC induced by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS). The results revealed that β-carotene significantly (p < 0.05) decreased the severity of colitis in rats, as assessed using body weight (6.00 ± 1.73%), colon length (22.23 ± 0.53%), and disease activity index, and improved the structure of the colon damaged. Moreover, colonic levels of proinflammatory cytokines were significantly lower following β-carotene supplementation. β-Carotene intervention also lowered the expression levels of phosphorylated p65 (0.60 ± 0.02), p38 (0.57 ± 0.00), Erk (0.63 ± 0.04), and JNK (0.70 ± 0.00). The result of the relative abundance of gut microbiota showed that DSS administration significantly changed the microbial structure at the phylum and genus levels of rats. Furthermore, β-carotene treatment significantly increased the abundance of Faecalibacterium, the levels of which negatively correlated with the levels of inflammatory cytokines. Faecalibacterium may be a potential target in the alleviation of DSS-induced UC. β-Carotene can alleviate DSS-induced UC through the regulation of gut microbiota. This study provides a reference for the rational use of β-carotene in the treatment of UC. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: β-Carotene can relieve ulcerative colitis and regulate the gut microbiota; the nutritional intervention of β-carotene enhancing animal health.

Topics: Animals; Anti-Inflammatory Agents; beta Carotene; Colitis, Ulcerative; Cytokines; Dextran Sulfate; Disease Models, Animal; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Male; Provitamins; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Ulcerative colitis (UC), a chronic gastrointestinal disorder, is a debilitating disease affecting many people across the globe. Research suggests that the levels of several antioxidants, including β-carotene (β-CAR), decrease in the serum of patients with UC. The present study was aimed at elucidating the molecular mechanisms involved in β-CAR-mediated protection against UC in mice.. UC was induced in mice using 3%w/v dextran sulfate sodium in drinking water for two cycles; one cycle comprised of 7 days of dextran sulfate sodium-treated water followed by 14 days of normal drinking water. β-CAR was administered at the doses of 5, 10 and 20 mg/kg bw/day, po throughout the experiment. The effect of β-CAR in mice with UC was evaluated using biochemical parameters, histological evaluation, comet and micronucleus assays, immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis.. The results indicated that β-CAR treatment ameliorated the severity of UC by modulating various molecular targets such as nuclear factor-kappa B, cyclooxygenase-2, interleukin 17, signal transducer and activator of transcription 3, nuclear erythroid 2-related factor 2, matrix metalloproteinase-9 and connective tissue growth factor. Further, β-CAR treatment maintained the gut integrity by increasing the expression of a tight junction protein, occludin, which was decreased in the colon of mice with UC. Also β-CAR treatment significantly reduced UC-associated elevated plasma lipopolysaccharide level, systemic inflammation and genotoxicity.. β-CAR ameliorated UC-associated local and systemic damage in mice by acting on multiple targets.

Topics: Animals; Antioxidants; beta Carotene; Colitis, Ulcerative; Comet Assay; Connective Tissue Growth Factor; Cyclooxygenase 2; Dextran Sulfate; Disease Models, Animal; DNA Damage; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Glutathione; Inflammation; Interleukin-17; Interleukin-6; Lipid Peroxidation; Lipopolysaccharides; Male; Matrix Metalloproteinase 9; Mice; NF-E2-Related Factor 2; NF-kappa B; Occludin; Oxidative Stress; STAT3 Transcription Factor; Tight Junction Proteins; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

The vitamin security and selenium status were measured in the patients with unspecific ulcerative colitis. There were used food microalgae Spirulina platensis and it's preparation enriched with selenium as auxiliary tools of dietetic treatment for these patients. It's shown that there is a combined deficiency of beta-carotene and selenium and occasionally some other micronutrients in a significant part of the patients. The doses used of said food supplements were not enough sufficient for a dietary correction of deficiency of micronutrients with antioxidative properties.

Topics: Adult; Aged; beta Carotene; Colitis, Ulcerative; Cyanobacteria; Humans; Middle Aged; Selenium

Malnutrition is observed frequently in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Knowledge of the nutritional status in patients with recently diagnosed IBD is limited. The aim of this study was to establish a comprehensive picture of the nutritional status in recently diagnosed IBD patients.. Sixty-nine IBD patients (23 Crohn's disease (CD) and 46 with ulcerative colitis (UC)) within 6 months of diagnosis and 69 age- and sex-matched population controls were included in the study.. The nutritional status was assessed by: (1) body composition (anthropometry and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry); (2) dietary intake (dietary history); (3) biochemical indexes of nutrition; and (4) muscle strength (isokinetic dynamometer).. Body weight and body mass index were significantly lower in UC patients compared with controls. The mean daily intake of carbohydrates was significantly higher in CD patients and the intakes of protein, calcium, phosphorus, and riboflavin were significantly lower in UC patients compared with controls, respectively. Serum concentrations of several nutrients (beta-carotene, magnesium, selenium and zinc) were significantly lower in UC patients compared with controls. Serum vitamin B12 concentration was significantly lower in CD patients. Muscle strength did not significantly differ between IBD patients and controls.. This study showed that the nutritional status of IBD patients was already affected negatively at time of diagnosis. It needs to be elucidated whether nutritional supplementation in recently diagnosed IBD patients may improve the clinical course of the disease.

Topics: Adult; beta Carotene; Body Composition; Body Mass Index; Body Weight; Calcium, Dietary; Colitis, Ulcerative; Crohn Disease; Diet; Dietary Carbohydrates; Dietary Proteins; Female; Humans; Male; Minerals; Muscle, Skeletal; Nutritional Status; Phosphorus, Dietary; Riboflavin; Vitamin B 12

1. Mass balance studies were carried out in fasted ileostomy subjects (n = 5) given an oral physiological dose (10 mg) of beta-carotene [all-trans: 9-cis, 84:16 (w/w)] dispersed in vegetable oil. Blood and ileal effluent samples were collected and analysed for beta-carotene. 2. Results showed that 90% (range 97.0-74.3%) of the total beta-carotene was absorbed without measurable perturbation of plasma total beta-carotene concentration, or change in the all-trans: 9-cis beta-carotene ratio. Peak loss of beta-carotene in ileal effluent occurred at 4.9 h (range 2.9-8.4 h) postingestion, and no further loss was detected after 5.4-12.4 h, depending upon the individual. Comparison of the ratio of all trans-beta-carotene to 9 cis-beta-carotene in the test meal and effluent indicated that isomerization did not occur during passage through the gastrointestinal tract and that both isomers were similarly absorbed. However, the all-trans: 9-cis beta-carotene ratio of the plasma did not change. Reasoned assumptions allowed the construction of a mathematical model of plasma beta-carotene disposal. 3. It is concluded that physiological doses of isolated all-trans and 9-cis beta-carotene are well absorbed without necessarily causing detectable excursions in plasma beta-carotene concentrations, or altering the ratio of all-trans to 9-cis beta-carotene. Isomerization of beta-carotene does not occur during passage through the gastrointestinal tract. Absorbed beta-carotene is rapidly cleared from the plasma to an unobservable pool at a rate similar to that of chylomicron triacylglycerol.

Topics: beta Carotene; Colitis, Ulcerative; Female; Humans; Ileostomy; Ileum; Intestinal Absorption; Male; Middle Aged; Stereoisomerism

The value of serum beta-carotene concentration as an indicator of steatorrhoea was investigated in 50 patients with steatorrhoea (fecal fat greater than 7 g/day), 53 controls, and 22 patients with gastrointestinal disease without steatorrhoea. In the control group, beta-carotene concentrations were normally distributed when plotted logarithmically. The mean value was 131 micrograms/dl. The lower limit of normal, based on a 2-SD confidence interval, was 47 micrograms/dl. beta-Carotene concentrations and fecal fat excretion were correlated in a reciprocal, hyperbolic function (r = -0.66). Twenty-nine of the 50 patients with steatorrhoea had beta-carotene concentrations less than 47 micrograms/dl (sensitivity 58%; specificity 93%). Referring to an additional cut-off point of 100 micrograms/dl, beta-carotene concentration had a sensitivity of 88%. These data show that low plasma beta-carotene concentrations (less than 47 micrograms/dl) can be regarded a specific and useful indicator of steatorrhoea and thus obviate fecal fat analysis. Values greater than 47 micrograms/dl, however do not exclude steatorrhoea. Based on a two-step interpretation beta-carotene is thus both a useful screening test for steatorrhoea (with a cut-off point of 100 micrograms/dl) and, more important, a valid, simple, and clinically practical alternative for fecal fat analysis (if values are less than 47 micrograms/dl).

Topics: beta Carotene; Carotenoids; Celiac Disease; Colitis, Ulcerative; Crohn Disease; Diagnosis, Differential; Fats; Feces; Humans; Pancreatitis; Spectrophotometry