Phenolic ethanolic extracts of specialty sorghum ameliorate intestinal colitis and inflammation induced by dextran sulfate sodium in mice

Authors: SLEEM, IBTESAM - Kansas State University; RODRIGUEZ, ABBY - Kansas State University; CHEN, BINGQI - Kansas State University; PERUMAL, RAMASAMY - Arkansas State University; Peterson, Jaymi; Smolensky, Dmitriy; DIA, VERMONT - University Of Tennessee

Submitted to: Biofactors
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/4/2025
Publication Date: 6/20/2025
Citation: Sleem, I., Rodriguez, A., Chen, B., Perumal, R., Peterson, J.M., Smolensky, D., Dia, V. 2025. Phenolic ethanolic extracts of specialty sorghum ameliorate intestinal colitis and inflammation induced by dextran sulfate sodium in mice. Biofactors. 51. Article 70028. https://doi.org/10.1002/biof.70028.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/biof.70028

Interpretive Summary: Recent research has established sorghum as an excellent source of polyphenols, which show promise in many disease models. This study used the extracts of brown sorghum, white sorghum and sorghum leaf extract in order to test whether these extracts can exhibit an anti-inflammatory effect in mice treated with an inflammatory bowel disease causing agent. Sorghum polyphenol extracts reduced inflammatory markers such as inflammatory cytokines, injury to the colon and histology changes. While all three extracts showed positive effects at reducing colon inflammation, the sorghum leaf extracts performed the best. Interestingly, white sorghum extracts which were low in polyphenols also performed well. The results further demostrate that certain components in sorghum, such as polyphenols, have the potential to reduce symptoms and signs of inflammatory bowel syndrome. More research is needed, especially in human subjects.

Technical Abstract: Recently, sorghum has received attention as an excellent source of bioactive components such as polyphenols that exhibited protective effects against multiple chronic disease models. Inflammatory bowel disease has increased globally and is linked to the incidence of colon cancer and other intestinal chronic diseases. Thus, this study aimed to determine the ability of sorghum ethanolic phenolic extracts (SEPEs) to mitigate intestinal colitis and inflammation status induced by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) on mice model. Forty C57BL/6 male mice were randomly assigned to one of the experimental groups: negative control, positive control (DSS only) and three groups given SEPEs contain (100 µg gallic acid eq/mL) from brown sorghum grains (BSG) and leaves (BSL) from the same brown grain cultivar, and white sorghum grains (WSG). SEPEs fed groups showed a significant reduction of the inflammatory cytokines including IL-6, TNF-alpha and IL-1 beta in the plasma and colon, colonic disease activity index values and fecal hemoglobin content compared to DSS group (p=0.001). Furthermore, SEPEs mitigated neutrophil infiltration via inhibiting myeloperoxidase activity in the colon and enhancing intestinal integrity by upregulation of the production of tight junction proteins such as ZO-1 and claudin-7. Histopathological results showed an improvement in mucosal structure and colon morphology under SEPEs uptake. BSL extract exhibited the better effective against DSS compared to BSG and WSG. To conclude, SEPEs ameliorate colonic colitis and inflammation by suppressing proinflammatory cytokines production, neutrophils infiltration and enhancement of the intestinal integrity and functionality. Thus, sorghum phenolics represent a potential alternative to mitigate colonic inflammation and colitis.