Zeitschrift für Zytologie und Histologie

The Effect of N. Acetylcysteine and Ginger on Acetic Acid Induced Colitis in Adult Male Albino Rat: Histological, Immunohistochemical and Morphometric Study

Abstract

Tarek I Abd El-Galil, Tarek A ElGhamrawy and Abir O El Sadik

Background: Idiopathic Inflammatory bowel diseases remain chronic progressive major health problem with no effective line of treatment. The aim of this work is to study the protective effects of both N. acetylcysteine (NAC) and ginger in acetic acid induced colitis model.
Material and methods: Fifty adult male Sprague Dawley albino rats were divided into five groups: control group (GI), group II (GII); acetic acid induced colitis group performed by giving 4% acetic acid intrarectally, group III (GIII); NAC treated rats from colitis, group IV (GIV); Ginger treated rats from colitis, and group V (GV); combined NAC and ginger treated rats from colitis. NAC and ginger were given by orogastric gavage. Histological and immunohistochemical studies using PCNA and i.NOS antibodies and morphometric analysis were performed.
Results: Colitis model group (GII) showed extensive inflammatory degenerative changes including mucosal ulceration, sloughing of epithelial cells, decreased goblet cell number and inflammatory cellular infiltration with enhanced mucosal and submucosal fibrotic changes. Also, it showed decreased PCNA positive cells and increased inflammatory i.NOS immunoexpression. NAC mildly decreased the fibrotic changes, however, ginger clearly restored the structural degenerative changes with an obvious increase in PCNA and reduction of i.NOS immunoexpression. Moreover, the colitis group, treated with both NAC and ginger, revealed the best regenerative effects.
Conclusion: Ginger showed superior protective effects than NAC as an anti-inflammmatory agent and a stimulant of epithelial regeneration.