Therapeutic potential of hen egg white peptides for the treatment of intestinal inflammation

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic and recurring inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract; however, current pharmaceutical treatments are only moderately effective and have potential long-term toxicity, therefore novel IBD therapies are required. Hen egg white has been shown to be an abundant source of novel immunomodulating proteins and peptides. The anti-inflammatory activity of egg white peptides was examined using a porcine model of dextran sodium sulphate (DSS)-induced colitis. DSS was administered for five days via intra-gastric catheter to induce experimental colitis, followed by five days of treatment with egg white peptides (EWP) or saline.Supplementation with EWP attenuated the DSS-induced clinical symptoms, including weight loss, mucosal and submucosal inflammation, crypt distortion, and colon muscle thickening, and restored gut barrier function by decreasing intestinal permeability and increasing mucin gene expression. Furthermore, treatment with EWP significantly reduced the local expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β, IFN-γ, IL-8, and IL-17, suggesting that EWP is a promising novel therapeutic for the treatment of IBD.