Polysaccharide Fraction from Campomanesia adamantium and Campomanesia pubescens Attenuates 5-Fluorouracil-Induced Intestinal Mucosal Inflammation in Mice

Abstract

Gastrointestinal toxicity, including diarrhea and inflammation, is commonly observed with the use of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). Several studies have shown that polysaccharides are interesting bioactive macromolecules for the treatment or prevention of gastrointestinal diseases. Therefore, in this study, the effect of a polysaccharide fraction from a mixture of two Guavira species (Campomanesia adamantium and Campomanesia pubescens), referred to here as CPW, on the development of intestinal mucositis was investigated. Intestinal mucositis was induced by a single injection of 5-FU (450 mg/kg), and various doses of CPW (3–100 mg/kg) were tested. CPW attenuated disease development and prevented small bowel dysmotility and colon shortening. CPW prevented the increase in villi width, crypt depth, and mucosal thickness in the duodenum, but not in the colon. Preservation of mucus, reduction of oxidative stress, inflammation, and prevention of the 5-FU-induced enlargement and swelling of the spleen were observed. In conclusion, this study demonstrated for the first time that CPW alleviates the intestinal damage induced by 5-FU and could be used as an adjuvant strategy during chemotherapy.

Graphical Abstract

Acknowledgments

To Complexo Pequeno Principe for their support. The authors are grateful to Prof. Dr. Elisvânia F. dos Santos (Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul) for providing the guavira pomace.

Author contributions

Isabella Wzorek França dos Santos and Karien Sauruk da Silva: Conceptualization, data curation, investigation, writing- original draft preparation; Laryssa Regis Bueno: Data curation, investigation; Vanessa Suzane Schneider: Data curation, investigation; Carolina Silva Schiebel: Data curation, investigation; Natalia Mulinari Turin de Oliveira: Data curation, investigation; Liziane Cristine Malaquias da Silva: Investigation; Elizabeth Soares Fernandes: Writing- original draft preparation; Lucimara Mach Cortes Cordeiro: Data curation, investigation, writing- original draft preparation, supervision, reviewing and editing; Daniele Maria-Ferreira: Conceptualization, Data curation, writing- original draft preparation, supervision, reviewing and editing.

Disclosure Statement

The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Data Availability Statement

Data will be made available on request.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Instituto de Pesquisa Pelé Pequeno Príncipe (Brazil), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq Grant numbers 404717/2016-0, 310332/2015-0, 307314/2018-9 to L.M.C.C.; and 305676/2019-9, 408053/2018-6 to E.S.F), INCT-INOVAMED (Brazil), and in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brasil (CAPES) – Finance Code 001. The author V.S.S. received a fellowship from CAPES – Fundação Araucária (Process 19–2015). I.W.F.d.S., K.S.S, N.M.T.d.O., and L.C.M.S. are students receiving a grant from CAPES. C.S.S is a scientific initiation scholarship student Fundação Araucária.