EFFECTS OF SHEA BUTTER ON SOME COLONIC OXIDATIVE STRESS MARKERS AND SOME TOTAL PROTEIN LEVELS IN ACETIC ACID INDUCED ULCERATIVE COLITIS HEALING IN MALE WISTAR RATS

Ulcerative colitis is a gastrointestinal disorder characterized by inflammation of the colon,often leading to symptoms such as pain,diarrhea and rectal bleeding. Shea butter,derived from the nuts of the Shea tree (vitellaria paradoxa) is renowened for its anti oxidants and anti inflammatory properties.Therefore, This study aimed to evaluate the effects of shea butter on oxidative stress markers and total proteins level in acetic acid induced colitis of male wistar rats. Forty eight(48) male wistar rats weighing between 180g-250g were used in this study.The rats were grouped into six groups.Group 1 was the control group,group 2 was the Shea butter group, group 3 was the colitis group, group 4 was the Colitis and treated with Shea butter one hour post colitis induction, group 5 was the colitis and treated treated 24hours post colitis induction and group 6 was the colitis and treated with Shea butter 48hours post colitis induction.The rats were induced with the dose of 1ml/100g of 6% acetic acid and treatment followed with the administration of 400g/1000.The Shea butter was administered intrarectally.Colitis given to the animals were assessed using body weight measurements and stool scoring.The rats were sacrificed by cervical dislocation on the 6th day then the colon was removed for biochemical analysis.The levels of oxidative stress such as malondialdehyde(MDA),catalase,superoxide dismutase(SOD),Glutathionine(GSH) and total levels protein were examined.Data were expressed as Mean + Standard error mean and the comparison were made using t-Test, values of P < 0.05 were consider statistically significant.Graph pad 9 were used for data analysis. The result of this study shows no significant differences in the SOD(superoxide dismutase),GSH(Glutathionine),MDA(Malondialdehyde),CAT( Catalase)and total protein levels across all groups. The result from this project revealed the effects of Shea butter exerted colitis healing. Although,while shea butter may have some anti oxidants properties,it did not effectively alter oxidative stress markers or overall protein.