Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Infammation Research https://doi.org/10.1007/s00011-019-01252-w ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER Protective efect of galangin against dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)‑induced ulcerative colitis in Balb/c mice Rajendra Sangaraju 1,2  · Nasiruddin Nalban 1,2  · Sateesh Alavala 1  · Vinoth Rajendran 1  · Mahesh Kumar Jerald 3  · Ramakrishna Sistla 1,2 Received: 6 March 2019 / Revised: 16 May 2019 / Accepted: 24 May 2019 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 Abstract Objective and design Infammatory bowel disease (IBD) is known to cause chronic infammation in the digestive tract by the immune malfunction. Herein, we demonstrate the protective efect of galangin (GAL), a phytochemical, on LPS-induced infammation in cultured mouse macrophages (RAW 264.7) and the treatment of DSS-induced ulcerative colitis in Balb/c mice. However, the anti-infammatory efect of GAL in DSS-exposed experimental colitis has not been investigated. Materials and methods We determined the levels of proinfammatory cytokines by ELISA, biochemical analysis using stand- ard protocols and protein expression level of NF-κB signaling pathway and activation of Nrf2 gene pathway were analyzed by western blot analysis in colitis-induced mice. Results Our in vitro studies showed that LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells treated with GAL reduced the levels of nitrites, IL-6, and TNF-α in a concentration-dependent manner. The results demonstrated that oral administration of GAL at 20 mg/kg (lower dose) and 40 mg/kg (higher dose) signifcantly reduced the severity of colitis and mitigated the clinical signs of both macroscopic and microscopic of the disease. The levels of proinfammatory cytokines (TNF-α and IL-6) in colonic tissue and serum were reduced signifcantly and in GAL + DSS-treated group relative to DSS alone treated group.  Increased levels of anti-infammatory cytokine (IL-10) was detected in colon tissues in GAL + DSS-treated groups relative to DSS alone treated group. We also observed decreased levels of myeloperoxidase (MPO), nitrites and TBARS with increased SOD in colonic tissue of GAL + DSS group. Besides, GAL + DSS-treated animals signifcantly suppressed protein expressions of p-NF-κB and p-Ikk-βα, COX-2, iNOS, Nrf2 and increased HO-1 levels in colon tissues by inhibiting infammation and oxidative stress. Conclusion Our study highlights the protective efect of galangin as an anti-infammatory agent against the severe form of colitis in pre-clinical models suggesting its potency for the treatment of IBD in humans. Keywords Galangin · Ulcerative colitis · Infammation · NF-κB pathway · Dextran sulfate sodium Abbreviations ANOVA Analysis of variance BCA Bicinchoninic acid BSA Bovine serum albumin CD Crohn’s disease CDNB 1-Chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene COX-2 Cycloxygenase-2 DSS Dextran sulfate sodium DTNB Dithiobis-nitrobenzoic acid GAL Galangin GIT Gastrointestinal disorder GSH Reduced glutathione GSSG Oxidized glutathione GST Glutathione-S-transferase HO-1 Heme oxygenase1 H&E Hematoxylin and eosin staining IκB Inhibitor of kappa B IL-6 Interleukin 6 IL-10 Interleukin 10 IBD Infammatory bowel disease Inflammation Research Responsible Editor: John Di Battista. * Ramakrishna Sistla sistla@iict.res.in 1 Department of Applied Biology, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), Hyderabad 500 007, India 2 Academy of Scientifc and Innovative Research (AcSIR), CSIR-HRDC Campus, Sector 19, Kamla Nehru Nagar, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh 201 002, India 3 Animal House Facility, CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad 500 007, India