PHARMACOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF ATORVASTATIN NANOPARTICLE AGAINST EXPERIMENTAL RAT MODEL OF ULCERATIVE COLITIS

The chronic inflammatory bowel disease known as ulcerative colitis is characterized by recurrent ulceration and inflammation of the colon lining, which often lowers quality of life and increases the risk of colorectal cancer. Nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems have the potential to overcome these limitations by improving drug efficacy, prolonging drug residence time, and enabling targeted delivery of therapeutic molecules. The present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of Atorvastatin calcium nanoparticles (ATN) against the dextran sodium sulphate-induced ulcerative colitis experimental rat model via disease activity index (% body weight loss, stool consistency and hemoccult), histopathological analysis, oxidative stress and inflammatory markers. The findings revealed that higher dose of ATN significantly altered the DAI, oxidative stress [thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS); superoxide dismutase (SOD); catalase; and total glutathione (tGSH)] and inflammatory markers (TNF- and IL-6) towards normal control. In addition, the histopathological analysis of colon tissues revealed the severity of colitis induced via Dextran Sodium Sulphate (DSS) and ATN treatment showed dose-dependent restoration towards normal control as evident with reduced lymphocyte infiltration and irregular lumen patterns. Thus, study concludes that oral administration of ATN could be further investigated for effective treatment against ulcerative colitis at clinical level. Also, ATN can also be explored for detailed mechanistic exploration against ulcerative colitis.