Ezetimibe Ameliorates Clinical Parameters, Oxidative Stress, and Adhesion Molecules in Experimentally Induced Colitis in Male Rat Models

Ulcerative colitis is a persistent and recurrent medical condition for which current treatments have shown limited efficacy, necessitating the exploration of alternative drugs with minimal side effects. This study aimed to examine the anti-oxidative and antiadhesive effects of ezetimibe compared to sulfasalazine in experimentally induced colitis in male rats. A total of 40 adult male Wistar rats were divided into 4 groups: a control group (negative control), an acetic acid group (positive control), an acetic acid + sulfasalazine (100 mg/kg/day) group, and an acetic acid + ezetimibe (10 mg/kg/day) group. Colitis was induced in rats by the inter-rectal administration of 2 ml of 4% (v/v) acetic acid. Sulfasalazine and ezetimibe were administered orally for seven days 1 hour after induction. Malondialdehyde (MDA), myeloperoxidase (MPO), e-selectin, and intracellular adhesive molecule 1 (ICAM-1) were measured in tissue homogenate upon euthanizing the animals. The results showed that the treatment with ezetimibe significantly reduced disease activity index (DAI) and macroscopic colonic scores (MAC) compared to the positive control group. Moreover, ezetimibe notably decreased MDA, MPO, e-selectin, and ICAM-1 in tissue homogenates of treated animals compared to the positive control group. In most comparisons, there were no significant differences between ezetimibe and sulfasalazine effects. These findings suggest that ezetimibe may have a therapeutic effect in the management of ulcerative colitis by reducing oxidative stress and adhesive molecules.