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The effects of selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors, celecoxib and rofecoxib, on experimental colitis induced by acetic acid in rats.

El-Medany A, Mahgoub A, Mustafa A, Arafa M, Morsi M

Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh 11461, P.O. Box 22452, Saudi Arabia.

Several mediators may be involved in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease, as well as in experimental colitis. The present work was conducted to investigate the effects of the two selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors, celecoxib and rofecoxib, on experimentally induced colitis in rats. Rectal instillation of acetic acid was used to induce the colitis. Acetic acid treatment caused haemorrhagic diarrhoea and weight loss in rats. Celecoxib (5 mg/kg) or rofecoxib (2.5 mg/kg), when given twice daily by the oral route, reduced the degree of haemorrhagic diarrhoea and the weight loss produced. In addition, they produced a significant reduction in the degree of colonic injury, the rise in myeloperoxidase (MPO) levels, total nitric oxide synthetase (NOS) activity, platelet-activating factor (PAF), histamine levels and prostaglandin E2 levels. In contrast, there was a significant increase in the levels of reduced glutathione (GSH). Thus, the findings of the present study provide evidence that selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors may be beneficial in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Published 20 January 2005 in Eur J Pharmacol, 507(1): 291-9.
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