Basella alba L. Mitigates Inflammatory And Oxidative Damage in Intestinal Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury via Tlr4 Pathway Modulation

Intestinal ischemia-reperfusion injury (IIRI) is a complicated syndrome that causes oxidative stress, inflammation, and epithelial barrier breakdown, leading to systemic inflammation and organ failure. This study examined the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiapoptotic, and immunomodulatory characteristics of Basella alba methanol leaf extract in rats subjected to IIRI induction. Thirty rats were allocated into 5 groups (n=6): sham, IIRI, IIRI pretreated with 100 mg/kg MLEBA, 200 mg/kg MLEBA, and 200 mg/kg ascorbic acid. Pretreatments were given for 14 days before IIRI induction with a 45-minute superior mesenteric artery blockage and a 24-hour reperfusion. Biochemical analyses showed that IIRI markedly increased the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA, 3.72 ± 0.17 μM/g protein), hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂, 1.23 ± 0.41 mmol/mg protein), pro-inflammatory cytokines [TNF-α (22.16 ± 0.65), IL-6 (18.57 ± 1.61), IL-1β (184.5 ± 13.65)], COX-2 (459.7 ± 64.55), myeloperoxidase (MPO, 147.8 ± 14.22 units/mg protein), and apoptotic markers [caspase-1 (0.07 ± 0.00), caspase-3 (0.20 ± 0.04), caspase-9 (0.18 ± 0.02 μ/mg protein)]. In contrast, antioxidant enzyme levels, SOD (4.01 ± 0.64), CAT (2.69 ± 0.35), GPx (54.48 ± 2.90), GST (0.20 ± 0.01 units/mg protein) and the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-4(3.06 ± 0.36 units/mg protein) were significantly reduced. Pretreatment with MLEBA dose-dependently reversed these alterations, with the high dose exhibiting comparable efficacy to ascorbic acid. Histological examination further revealed that MLEBA preserved villus architecture, lowered Chiu’s scores, and decreased the expression of Toll-like receptor-4. These findings imply that Basella alba L. could be a promising, low-cost natural medicinal candidate for treating IIRI.