The protective effect of walnut oil on lipopolysaccharide–induced acute intestinal injury in mice

Abstract

Walnut oil (WO) is widely used in traditional medicine, and it has become a dietary supplement in many countries. We isolated walnut oil from Juglans sigillata and evaluated its protective effects on acute intestinal injury, and Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) signaling pathway in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced mice was studied. The results showed that the LPS + WO group significantly decreased serum tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and IL-1β levels and increased the jejunum superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) levels compared with the LPS group. Walnut oil ameliorated the pathological morphology of the LPS-induced acute jejunum injury and decreased jejunum cells apoptosis rate and TLR4/NF-κB protein expression. Furthermore, the expression of the TLR4/NF-κB pathway key gene mRNA significantly reduced after treatment with walnut oil. This study concludes that walnut oil can exert the protective effect on LPS-induced acute intestinal injury in mice by inhibiting the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway.