Bowel Inflammation and Nutrient Supplementation: Effects of a Fixed Combination of Probiotics, Vitamins, and Herbal Extracts in an In Vitro Model of Intestinal Epithelial Barrier Dysfunction

The gut microbiota is a very important factor in the state of health of an individual, its alteration implies a situation of "dysbiosis," which can be connected to functional gastrointestinal disorders and pathological conditions, such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Ulcerative Colitis (UC) and Crohn's Disease (CD), and Colorectal Cancer (CRC). In this work, we studied the effect of a food supplement called ENTERO-AD containing a mix of probiotics ( Lactobacillus acidophilus LA1, L. reuteri LR92, Bifidobacterium breve Bbr8), Matricaria Chamomilla, , and B group vitamins (B1, B2, B6) on intestinal inflammation. The in vitro model used for the study is the Caco-2 cell, a culture derived from human intestinal adenocarcinoma; the inflammatory condition was achieved with treatment with Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and the association between Tumor necrosis factor alpha/Interferon gamma (TNF-alpha/IFN-gamma) [1,2]. The effect of ENTERO-AD was evaluated by cell viability, measures of Transepithelial Electrical Resistance (TEER), paracellular permeability, and immunofluorescence. Results of the study have shown that ENTERO-AD has a favorable effect on Caco-2 cells in inflammatory conditions. It improves the integrity of Occludin and Zonula Occludens-1 (ZO-1) proteins, leading to an improvement in terms of TEER values and a reduction of paracellular permeability. This evidence underlines the protective effect of ENTERO-AD and its components in intestinal inflammation.