Introduction: Tartrazine is a water-soluble synthetic azo dye with a bright lemon yellow color used to enhance look, taste, smell, and quality of food. Its prolonged intakes can lead to serious health hazards through the induction of oxidative stress and tissue inflammation mediated by TNF- α. Manuka honey, is a dark honey derived from the manuka tree, possesses antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiulcer and antimicrobial effects.
Aim: This study aimed to investigate the injurious effect of tartrazine on the rat jejunal mucosa and the possible amelioration by Manuka honey in comparison to tartrazine withdrawal from the tissues through a histological, and morphometric study with the role of oxidative stress &TNF- α.
Materials and Methods: 40 adult male Wistar rats 180-200 grams used and divided into 4 groups (10 rats each): group 1 (control); group 2 (Tartrazine group (TZ)): 10 mg/kg/ day tartrazine given orally for 12 weeks; group 3 (Tartrazine+ Manuka honey group (TZ+MH)): 2.5 mg/kg/day of manuka honey 1 hour before tartrazine (10 mg/kg/ day) orally for 12 weeks; and group 4 (TZ recovery): 10 mg/kg/day tartrazine given orally for 12 weeks then left for another 12 weeks for recovery.
Results: Group 2 showed jejunal mucosal degenerative changes, significantly decreased villus height, mucosal thickness and crypt depth. Also, congested blood capillaries, mononuclear cellular infiltrations, significant decrease in the number goblet cells, and significantly increased collagen fibers. The significantly decreased proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) expression, and significantly increased expression of TNF-α were also noticed. Group 3 showed marked amelioration of the previous findings better than group 4.
Conclusion: Manuka honey ameliorates tartrazine-induced jejunal mucosal damage through its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effectsز