(P145) ANTHOCYANIN AND PECTIN COMPLEXES ATTENUATE ULCERATIVE COLITIS IN IL-10 KNOCKOUT MICE

The role of anthocyanin and polysaccharide complexes in alleviating symptoms associated with ulcerative colitis (UC) is lacking. Anthocyanins are bioactive compounds found in a variety of fruits and vegetables and have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties but exhibit low stability and bioavailability upon isolation. Pectin, a nondigestible polysaccharide interacts with anthocyanins forming anthocyanin and pectin complexes (APC). We have shown that APC increases anthocyanin stability and retains anthocyanin bioactivity after in vitro upper digestion. Therefore, for this study we hypothesized that APC would show protective effects against dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) induced UC in C57BL/6J IL10 knockout mice through inflammatory regulation and epithelial protection. To test this hypothesis, mice were given a control diet or APC diet for 8 weeks. At the beginning of the 7th week, 2.5% DSS was introduced into the drinking water for 6 days and the mice were sacrificed on the 7th day. The mice exposed to DSS showed significant weight loss and colon shortening compared to the mice without DSS. Supplementation of APC ameliorated DSS-induced weight loss and was similar to that of no DSS control mice. Colon shortening, one of the biomarkers of DSS-induced colitis was ameliorated with APC supplementation. The colon lengths of mice on APC were similar to those of no DSS control. Currently, the relative gene expression levels of inflammatory markers, tight junction proteins and MUC2 in the colon tissue are being investigated via PCR. Our preliminary findings including the weight loss and colon length indicate that APC has potential protective properties against DSS-induced UC.