Can sweet olives relieve colitis?

A study published in the Journal of Medicinal Food found that sweet olive (Osmanthus fragrans) can be used to treat colitis. Conducted by researchers from Taiwan, the study looked at the therapeutic effect of sweet olive extracts on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

• In traditional Chinese medicine, sweet olive is used to treat dysentery and reduce phlegm and stasis.
• Evidence shows that verbascoside, which is the primary component in extracts of sweet olives, can inhibit the secretion of interleukin 8 (IL-8), which is believed to contribute to chronic inflammation and cancer, in a human colorectal adenocarcinoma cell line.
• However, the effect of sweet olive extract on treating IBD is not yet fully understood.
• Researchers measured the ability of sweet olive extract and verbascoside to suppress IL-8 secretion in cells.
• They treated the cells with 100 micrograms per milliliter (?g/mL) of sweet olive extract and 10 micromolar (?M) of verbascoside and found that both treatments significantly inhibited IL-8 production.
• The researchers also conducted a study on mice.
• They treated mice with 500 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) of sweet olive extract per day.
• Results showed that sweet olive treatment resulted in significant improvement in IBD symptoms.
• It also suppressed myeloperoxidase expression.

In conclusion, these findings suggest that sweet olive extracts exhibit anti-inflammatory effects on colitis.

To read more studies on natural treatments for high uric acid, visit NaturalMedicine.news.

Journal Reference:

Shi L-S, Liu P-C, Tseng Y-F, Chen Y-L, Ye Y-L. SWEET OLIVE EXTRACT ATTENUATES DEXTRAN SULFATE SODIUM-INDUCED COLITIS IN MICE. Journal of Medicinal Food. 12 December 2018; 21(12): 1244-1252. DOI: 10.1089/jmf.2018.4196