The Faculty of Pharmacy discussed the master’s thesis entitled “The Possible Protective Effect of Cinnamic acid in Ulcerative Colitis Induced by Dextran Sodium Sulfate in Male Mice” by Maysam Ameer Hussein and her supervisor, Ass. Prof. Dr. Munaf Hashim Abdulrazzaq, in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology. The study aimed to investigate the anti-inflammatory effects of cinnamic acid on proinflammatory cytokines and the anti-oxidant effects on in mice with ulcerative colitis induced by dextran sodium sulfate. The study included forty adult male mice weighing 24-31 g. Mice were divided into five groups randomly, with eight mice in each group. The control group (vehicle administration), an induction group, and the vehicle received and 3% dextran sodium sulfate in drinking water for 7 consecutive days. The Two treatment groups received oral suspension of cinnamic acid (50 or 25 mg/kg) respectively and 3% dextran sodium sulfate in drinking water, for 7 consecutive days, and the final group received oral suspension of cinnamic acid 50 mg/kg for 7 days without 3% dextran sodium sulfate in drinking water. All the animals were euthanized on day eight. Blood was withdrawn from each animal by the retro-orbital route and used to examine pro- inflammatory cytokine levels in serum. The colon of animals of each group was extracted and divided into two sections. The middle was homogenized and biochemically analyzed using the mean levels of Superoxide dismutase, and Malondialdehyde, Catalase, the distal part of the colon was used for histopathological examination. From the results obtained from this study, it can be concluded that treatment with cinnamic acid, which was given at a dose of (25 and 50 mg/kg) for a week, reduced the levels of inflammation by reducing the levels of cytokines that stimulate inflammation and oxidative stress, which were high when used with dextran Sodium Sulfate. This finding supports the idea that the use of this substance can be used as a protective therapy for patients at risk of having ulcerative colitis. The study also recommended investigating the molecular mechanism of the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of cinnamic acid in the treatment of ulcerative colitis, also recommended that cinnamic acid should be used for longer duration to detect possible side effects. and also recommends increasing the number of mice used in the experiment. and measure other proinflammatory cytokines like IL-10, IL13, and other antioxidant, like glutathione peroxidase.
