The effects of dietary catechins and alpha-tocopherol on inflammatory bowel disease in rats were examined. Male 9-week-old rats were intracolonically administrated trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) and fed the experimental diets containing 0.05% catechin and 0.025% alpha-tocopherol for 1 week, then dissected. The extent of colitis-induced TNBS was assessed macroscopically. The supplementation of catechins and alpha-tocopherol significantly decreased colonic damage compared with the group fed the basal diet (the disease control). In particular, catechin feeding completely inhibited the development of colon adhesions. Colonic myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, which is a marker of neutrophil infiltration into the colonic mucosa, was lower in the groups that had been given catechins and alpha-tocopherol. The levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances in colon was highest in the disease control group; however, the differences among the groups were not significant. Plasma alkaline phosphatase activity was maintained at normal levels in the rats supplemented with catechins and alpha-tocopherol. These results suggest that catechins and alpha-tocopherol have anti-inflammatory effects on TNBS-induced rat colitis.
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Sato et al. (1998) studied this question.