Stable antiinflammatory isothiocyanates from moringa may prevent and treat IBD

DESCRIPTION provided by applicant This Phase I SBIR project aims to preclinically characterize an innovative and proprietary botanical product targeting chronic inflammatory conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease IBD Our objective is to provide experimental support for the hypothesis that anti inflammatory isothiocyanates ITCs naturally produced in the edible leaves of Moringa oleifera Lam moringa after mechanical wounding provide stable highly efficacious and practical alternatives to instable and volatile ITCs produced by plants of the crucifer family Brassicaceae such as broccoli Moringa leaves are historically used as a nutritious food and traditional medicine throughout South Asia and Africa They contain high levels of nutrients vitamins and beneficial phytoactives These phytoactives include unique sugar modified aromatic glucosinolates that can be converted to bioactive and stable moringa isothiocyanates MICs in wounded leaves We have developed a novel simple and proprietary aqueous extraction biotransformation method which effectively converts moringa glucosinolates into MICs resulting in good tasting shelf stable food grade moringa concentrate MC containing at least of MICs Preliminary studies have shown that MICs equal or exceed the bioactivity of sulforaphane a well known ITC from broccoli Both MC and MICs strongly reduced the expression and levels of inflammatory markers such as iNOS IL and TNF in in vitro models as well TNF levels in intestinal tissue and feces of mice fed a high fat diet The proposed work carried out in close collaboration with the laboratory of Dr Ilya Raskin of Rutgers University a leading expert in botanicals and inflammation and three consultants experienced in various aspects of natural products and IBD will assess bioavailability and toxicology of MICs delivered in MC We will further investigate anti inflammatory effects of MC and MICs in an in vitro Caco cell model with the goal of elucidating the mechanism of action of MICs and study the effects of MC in the dextran sodium sulfate DSS induced mouse model of acute and chronic ulcerative colitis Finally we will investigate and compare MIC content of various moringa cultivars growing in diverse climatic and geographic regions and define and optimize commercial scale MC manufacturing methods such as wounding residue removal and drying PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE Isothiocyanates from broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables are associated with decreased risk of many chronic diseases Using Nutrasorb technology and recent discoveries from Rutgers University we will evaluate the use of stable and efficacious isothiocyanates from moringa delivered in the form of a proprietary food grade botanical extract to prevent and treat Inflammatory Bowel Disease