Oral administration of hen egg white ovotransferrin attenuates the development of colitis induced by dextran sodium sulfate in mice

Ovotransferrin (OVT), one of the major hen egg white proteins, was shown to possess antimicrobial and antioxidant activities in vitro. However, there is no information regarding the in vivo preventative effect in chronic inflammatory diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The aim of the present study is to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effects of OVT in a mouse model of dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis. OVT (50 or 250 mg/kg BW) was given orally for 14 days to female BALB/c mice, and 5% DSS (MW 36-50 kDa) was used to induce acute colitis (days 7-14) via drinking water. The current in vivo study demonstrated that OVT significantly reduced clinical signs, weight loss, shortening of the colon, and inflammatory cytokine markers of disease. The histopathological analysis of the colon revealed that OVT reduced histological scores. These results indicate that the use of OVT may be a potential promising candidate for the prevention of IBD.