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BackgroundFoeniculum vulgare,F. vulgare, commonly known as fennel, is believed to be one of the world’s oldest medicinal herbs and has been exploited by people for centuries as a nutritional aid for digestive disorders. In many southeast Asian countries it is ingested as an after-meal snack, mukhvas, due to its breath-freshening and digestive aid properties.F. vulgareis used in some countries, such as Iran, as a complementary and alternative treatment for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).MethodsThis study investigated the effects ofF. vulgareon the barrier function of the intestinal epithelium Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription (STAT) pathway, which is active in inflammatory bowel disease.To study the protective effects ofF. vulgareextractin vitro, monolayers derived from the T84 colonic cell line were challenged with interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) and monitored with and withoutF. vulgareextract. To complement ourin vitrostudies, the dextran sodium sulfate induced murine colitis model was employed to ascertain whether the protective effect ofF. vulgareextract can be recapitulatedin vivo.ResultsF. vulgareextract was shown to exert a protective effect on TEER in both T84 and murine models and showed increases in tight junction-associated mRNA in T84 cell monolayers. Both models demonstrated significant decreases in phosphorylated STAT1 (pSTAT1), indicating reduced activation of the STAT pathway. Additionally, mice treated withF. vulgareshowed significantly lower ulcer indices than control mice.ConclusionsWe conclude barrier function of the gastrointestinal tract is improved byF. vulgare, suggesting the potential utility of this agent as an alternative or adjunctive therapy in IBD. |
