Mogroside-rich extract from <i>Siraitia grosvenorii</i> fruits protects against heat stress-induced intestinal damage by ameliorating oxidative stress and inflammation in mice
Renhong Lu, Jiahao Hu, Xinxin Liu, Lijiang Yu, Junjie Hu, Huimin Jiang, Shaoyuan Liu, Mengqi Li, Jiakang He, Xiaogan Yang, Xingwei Liang
Abstract
MGE followed by exposure to high temperature (40 °C for 2 h per day), and the structures and molecular changes in the ileum were examined. Our findings showed that body weight was decreased by heat stress, while the activity of serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) was increased. We further found that heat stress impaired the intestinal barrier by reducing the number of goblet cells and mRNA levels of the tight junction proteins zona occludens protein 1 (ZO-1), Occludin (OCLD) and recombinant mucin 2 (MUC2 mucin), but it increased the mRNA level of trefoil factor 3 (TFF3). Interestingly, MGE treatment reversed these changes. Furthermore, heat stress increased the activity of SOD in the intestine, downregulated the expression of the oxidative stress-related genes glutathione peroxidase 1 (GPX1), SOD2 and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2), and upregulated the expression of catalase (CAT). Moreover, heat stress increased tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels in the intestine and upregulated the expression of the inflammation-related genes interleukin 10 (IL-10), TNF-α, Interferon-γ (IFN-γ), toll like receptor 4 (TLR4) and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kB). However, MGE treatment effectively reduced TNF-α levels and restored the normal activity of SOD and normal mRNA levels for both oxidative stress-related and inflammation-related genes. In summary, our results showed that MGE can protect against heat stress-induced intestinal damage by ameliorating inflammation and oxidative stress.