Model nutraceuticals and chronic colitis

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is a term for a group of chronic inflammatory conditions that affect the gastrointestinal tract.
Traditionally considered a disease of Western, industrialized nations, IBD is now an emerging global health concern. While prevalence rates have been high and are now stabilizing in North America, Europe, and Oceania, the incidence of IBD is rising rapidly in newly industrialized countries.

The exact cause of IBD is not fully understood, but it's believed to be a complex interaction between a person's genetics, their immune system, the gut microbiome, and environmental factors. This combination leads to a dysregulated immune response, causing chronic inflammation.

Nutraceuticals are designed to promote health, prevent disease, and support the body’s functions naturally through bioactive compounds derived from food (dietary supplements, functional foods, herbal extracts).

In the context of IBD, they are being explored as a complementary or alternative approach to manage the disease, often in conjunction with conventional therapies.

The interest in nutraceuticals for IBD is driven by their potential to:

• Reduce inflammation: Many nutraceuticals have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that can help to calm the chronic inflammation characteristic of IBD.
• Support the gut microbiome: They can help restore the balance of "good" bacteria in the gut, which is often imbalanced in IBD patients.
• Improve gut barrier function

At Vibiosphen, we provide a robust model of chronic colitis to support the development of novel nutraceuticals. Our model is designed to generate clinically relevant data that help pharmaceutical, and biotechnology companies accelerate food supplement discovery.

Background of Model nutraceuticals and chronic colitis

There is no single cure for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), but a variety of treatments are available to manage symptoms. The management of inflammation is crucial to prevent complications and improve patients' quality of life.

Our mouse model is based on successive cycles of 2% DSS in drinking water for 5 days / water for 10 days that result in the induction of chronic colitis. Nutraceuticals can be administrated daily by oral gavage through the experiment until the end of experiment.

Mouse Model nutraceuticals and chronic colitis

• The primary mouse lineages used in preclinical studies are inbred strains known for their genetic uniformity, which minimizes experimental variability.
  • C57BL/6 mice 
  • BALB/c mice
• Outbred mice, unlike their inbred counterparts, are maintained in large, randomly bred colonies to maximize genetic variation. This heterogeneity makes each mouse genetically unique.
  • CD-1 (also known as ICR) mice
  • Swiss mice
     

Readouts in the model nutraceuticals and chronic colitis

• Primary endpoints
  • Mouse monitoring (bodyweight, clinical signs)
  • Systemic inflammation (blood cytokines)
  • Intestinal inflammation (fecal lipocalin2)
  • Colon length
• Secondary endpoints
  • Gut barrier integrity: (FITC-dextran) 

  • Gut microbiota composition (metagenomic)

     

Why Choose Vibiosphen?

• Proven expertise in infectious disease research
• Flexible and customized study designs adapted to sponsor requirements (see downloads available as example) 
• Advanced facilities to ensure reliable and reproducible results (BSL2 and BSL3) 
• Strong collaborations with pharmaceutical companies, biotech firms, and academic partners

Vibiosphen combines scientific excellence with industry know-how to deliver actionable preclinical data that drive innovation in infectious disease therapeutics.

Contact Us

If you are developing new treatments or vaccines against pulmonary infections, Vibiosphen can help accelerate your research.

Contact us today to discuss your project and explore how our pulmonary infection models can support your development strategy. 

We will be pleased to facilitate your project by providing a customized study design to your project objectives.