Could Curcumin, Reservatrol, and Simvastatin be used to treat acute Ileitis?

A team in Germany developed mouse model for acute ileitis such as that experienced by patients suffering from a flare up of Crohns disease. This model was used to test the potential to use reservatrol, simvastatin and curcumin as treatments.

 The team established a model by infecting 3 month old mice with Toxoplasma gondii, a virulent intestinal pathogen, and treating with either placebo or one of 3 experimental substances. Subsequent tests were performed to examine either what cell types predominated in situ, macroscopic signs of inflammation, types of cytokines, effect on enteric bacterial populations, and bacterial translocation

You probably have heard of, and likely ingested at least some of the three chemicals of interest. Reservatrol has already garnered attention as a polyphenol found in grapeskins that acts as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. Curcumin is another polyphenol also thought to have anti-inflammatory effects; this one is responsible for the spice and smell in turmeric. Simvastatin is from the statin family of drugs is used to control elevated cholesterol.

All of the experimental groups came back with some promising results. The small intestine shortened from inflammation in all groups compared to naive, non infected mice. Those experimental groups shortened intestinal length significantly less than the placebo group. Significantly less weight loss in experimental groups and better immunohistology showed the GI more intact at the end of the experiment in experimental groups.

The type and number of immune cells found at the cite of damage was very different between placebo and experimental groups. The groups that recieved treatment exhibited less T cells and Neutrophils but more T regulatory cells and proliferating cells. This is an exciting finding in diseases that have damage mediated by T cells.

The enterobacterial populations changed from a more proinflamatory Enterococcus and Escherichia coli to the anti-imflammatory Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria  in treatment groups. Influencin the bacterial populations may in turn influence the immune system.

 Translocation to Mesenteric lymph nodes and the spleen was lowest in reservatrol treated mice, followed by curcumin treated groups with no significant decrease from placebo to simvistatin. The reservatrol group exhibited higher rates of long term survival, too.

This set of tests may prove helpful to understand the acute episodes of ileitis in humans. For now, at least it seems that these chemicals are proving very interesting avenues of treatment down the line.

1. Bereswill S, Muñoz M, Fischer A, et al. Anti-inflammatory effects of resveratrol, curcumin and simvastatin in acute small intestinal inflammation. PloS one. 2010;5:e15099.