Lingonberry fruit ethanol extract ameliorates dss‐induced ulcerative colitis in vivo and in vitro

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an inflammatory chronic intestinal disease with pathological characteristics, including imbalanced immune function and the overexpression of inflammatory cy-tokines and mediators. Inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐α, interleukin (IL)‐1, and IL‐6) were oversecreted in UC condition. Cyclooxygenase (COX)‐2 and prostaglandin (PG)E2 were also overexpressed in colon tissue. Lingonberry (LB) (Vaccinium vitis‐idaea L.) possesses phar-macological activities, including anti‐oxidant, anti‐cancer, and anti‐obesity effects. To explore LB’s effects on UC, BALB/c mice were administered with 3% (w/v) dextran sulphate sodium (DSS) and LB extract (70% ethanol) orally for nine days. The severity of UC was measured by the change in body weight and colon length. To evaluate LB’s regulatory effect on inflammatory cytokines, the enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit was used to measure the inflammatory cytokines in mouse serum. Mouse peritoneal microphages were used to detect LB’s anti‐inflammatory effect. The results showed that LB treatment ameliorated less weight loss and longer colon length com-pared to the DSS‐treated group. LB treatment also ameliorated the secretion of inflammatory cyto-kines. These results indicated that LB has potential as an herbal medicine to treat UC.