A HERBAL BASED THERAPEUTIC APPROACH TO INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASES (IBD): IN VIVO SUPPRESSION OF EXPERIMENTAL ULCERATIVE COLITIS BY PIPER HYMENOPHYLLUM MIQ

Background and Ethno pharmacological Relevance: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), encompassing Ulcerative Colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD), remains a major global health challenge due to its rising incidence, chronic relapsing nature and the significant limitations of current pharmacological therapies. Piper hymenophyllum Miq. (Piperaceae) is a newly explored wild species traditionally employed in indigenous folk medicine of South and Southeast Asia for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders. Previous phytochemical investigations have identified alkaloids, phenylpropanoids and the diterpene phytol as major bioactive constituents with documented antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential.
Aims of the Study: The present study aimed to evaluate the in vivo anti-IBD activity of ethyl acetate extracts of P. hymenophyllum leaf and fruit using an acetic acid-induced ulcerative colitis model in Wistar albino rats and to assess associated antioxidant, myeloperoxidase and histopathological changes.
Materials and Methods: Healthy male Wistar albino rats (180–200 g) were randomly allocated to seven groups (n = 6). Ulcerative colitis was induced by intrarectal administration of 1% acetic acid (150 µl) on day 8. Extracts were administered orally at 200 mg/kg body weight (bw)(low dose) and 400 mg/kg body weight (bw)(high dose) for 11 days, sulfasalazine (5 mg/kg bw) served as the standard control. Acute oral toxicity was performed per OECD-423 guidelines. Biochemical parameters lipid peroxidation (LPO), superoxide dismutase (SOD), reduced glutathione (GSH) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) were assessed in serum and colonic tissue homogenates. Colon tissues were processed for H&E histopathology.
Results: Acute toxicity studies confirmed extract safety up to 2000 mg/kg bw with no observed adverse effects or mortality. In the colitis model, high-dose leaf extract (P L2, 400 mg/kg bw) produced the most significant attenuation of disease severity  comparable to sulfasalazine evidenced by significant suppression of MDA and MPO, marked elevation of SOD and GSH  and near-normal histopathological findings including mucosal regeneration and reduced inflammatory cell infiltration. Low-dose leaf and high-dose fruit groups showed intermediate, dose-dependent protective effects.
Conclusions: This study provides the first compelling in vivo evidence that ethyl acetate leaf extract of 
P. hymenophyllum at 400 mg/kg bw significantly mitigates experimentally induced ulcerative colitis through antioxidant and anti-inflammatory mechanisms, supporting its ethnopharmacological use and its potential as a natural candidate for IBD management.