Alleviation of Irritable Bowel Syndrome-Like Symptoms and Control of Gut and Brain Responses with Oral Administration of Dolichos lablab L. in a Mouse Model

• Published in: Nutrients 2018-10, Vol.10 (10), p.1475
• Main Authors: Chun, Eunho, Yoon, Soojung, Parveen, Amna, Jin, Mirim
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Administration, Oral; Animals; anxiety; Anxiety - drug therapy; Anxiety - etiology; Brain - metabolism; Colon - metabolism; colonic inflammation; Disease Models, Animal; Dolichos - chemistry; Dolichos lablab L; gut–brain axis; irritable bowel syndrome; Irritable Bowel Syndrome - chemically induced; Irritable Bowel Syndrome - drug therapy; Irritable Bowel Syndrome - psychology; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; mouse model; pain; Phytotherapy - methods; Plant Extracts - administration & dosage; Zymosan; zymosan-induced IBS
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu10101475

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common gastrointestinal disorder manifesting as unexplained abdominal pain and bowel habit changes. The pathogenesis of post-infectious IBS is associated with gut⁻brain axis dysfunction, including low-grade colonic inflammation and anxiety-related long-term brain changes. This study analyzed the efficacy of a standardized extract of L. extract (DL), a bean species, in an IBS mouse model resembling post-infectious, diarrhea-dominant IBS. Using a zymosan-induced animal IBS model, we found that oral administration of DL significantly attenuated zymosan-induced increases in colonic macroscopic scores and minimized weight loss without affecting food intake. In the DL-treated mice, the mast cell count and tumor necrosis factor-α level in the colon markedly decreased, similar to results in sulfasalazine-treated mice and in mice with lipopolysaccharide-stimulated bone marrow-derived mast cells. The number of visceral pain-related behaviors was much lower in the DL-treated mice. Anxiety-like behaviors significantly improved, comparable to that after treatment with amitriptyline. The c-Fos expression level in the prefrontal cortex was significantly reduced. Our data suggest that DL could be beneficial for treating IBS by acting on the gut and brain.