Objective:
Our experiments were designed to investigate the effects of zerumbone pretreatment on cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK-8)-induced acute pancreatitis in rats.
Methods:
Male Wistar rats weighing 240 to 280 g were divided into a control group, a group treated with CCK-8, a group receiving 20 mg/kg zerumbone before CCK-8 administration, and a group treated with zerumbone only.
Results:
The serum amylase and lipase activities and the pancreatic weight-body weight ratio were significantly reduced by zerumbone pretreatment, but the drug failed to influence the histological parameters of pancreatitis. The anti-inflammatory effects of the drug were manifested in decreases in the cytosolic interleukin 6 and tumor necrosis factor α concentrations and an elevation in the I-κB concentration, whereas the antioxidant ability of zerumbone was demonstrated by reductions in inducible nitric oxide synthase, Mn- and Cu/Zn-superoxide dismutase activities in the zerumbone-treated rats.
Conclusion:
Zerumbone ameliorated the changes of several parameters of acute pancreatitis probably by interfering with I-κB degradation, but in the applied dose, it failed to influence the histology of the disease.
Abbreviations: CCK-8 - cholecystokinin octapeptide, DMSO - dimethyl sulfoxide, iNOS - inducible nitric oxide synthase, cNOS - constitutive nitric oxide synthase, TNF, tumor necrosis factor, IL-6 - interleukin 6, NF-κB - nuclear factor κB, SOD - superoxide dismutase, ASAT - aspartate aminotransferase
