INVESTIGATION OF THE PROTECTIVE EFFECTS OF POMEGRANATE (Punica granatum L.) PEEL EXTRACT ON LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDE-INDUCED UVEITIS IN RATS

Pomegranate peel contains bioactive ingredients such as flavonoids, ellagitannins, phenolics and proanthocyanidin compounds with high antioxidant activity. Pomegranate peel has antiapoptotic, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects due to its high punicalagin content. We aimed to determine the effect of pomegranate peel extract (PPE) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced uveitis. Sixty rats were seperated randomly into twelve groups (n = 5). The healthy group received intraperitoneal normal saline, the uveitis group received 200 mu g/kg LPS, the dexamethasone (DEX) group received 200 mu g/kg LPS plus 1 mg/kg DEX, the PPE100, PPE300 and PPE500 groups received 200 mu g/kg LPS plus 100, 300 and 500 mg/kg PPE, respectively. The eye tissues were collected at 3rd and 24th hour. and investigated molecularly (Relative quantification of gene expression), biochemically (Superoxide dismutase activity, Glutathione and Malondialdehyde levels) and histopathologically (staining with Harris Hematoxylin and Eosin Y). Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha, vascular endothelial growth factor, and Caspase-3 levels markedly decreased in a dose-dependent manner in the uveitic rats following PPE administration. PPE administration significantly ameliorated uveitic disorders in oxidative stress factors including Glutathione, Superoxide dismutase and Malondialdehyde, with its effects raising in a dose-dependent manner. PPE eliminated histopathological changes in eye tissues due to uveitis. PPE can be a promising agent by contributing to alternative preventive treatment methods for uveitis with its anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, antiapoptotic and antiangiogenic effects.