Effectiveness of a commercial symbiotic in an experimental model of ulcerative colitis

To verify the effects of a commercial symbiotic in an experimental model of ulcerative colitis. For this, male Wistar rats (5 weeks old) were used. The induction of Ulcerative Colitis was performed via intracolonic route with trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS) (10mg TNBS/0.75ml ethanol/50%). The animals were distributed in: sham, treated with ultrapure water (CT); colitis, treated with ultrapure water (TNBS CT); colitis, treated with mesalazine (TNBS MES); and colitis, treated with the symbiotic (TNBS SYM). The following were evaluated: weight, food intake, and the food efficiency coefficient (FEC). After 7 days, euthanasia was performed by removing tissue from the colon for macroscopic and microscopic analysis. After treatment, the TNBS SYM group presented similar body weight to the CT group, but with lower food intake (p<0.001), as well as lower FEC. In the macroscopic analysis, the TNBS SYM group presented lower signs of inflammation and extension of the ulcerations, however without statistical difference in the microscopic analysis. It was observed that under the experimental conditions of the study, the use of the symbiotic maintained body weight and macroscopically reduced the extent of ulceration and tissue aggression, with similar effect to drug use, however, without statistical difference in the microscopic evaluation.