Effect of mesalazine, an agent for the treatment of idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease, on reactive oxygen metabolites and LTB4 formation

Mesalazine microgranules (Pentasa®) were developed as a drug for idiopathic inflammatory bowel diseases such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. In this study, we examined the effect of mesalazine on radical scavenging, lipid peroxidation and the formation of LTB4. Mesalazine reduced the free radical 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl with an IC50 value of 9.5 μM. It scavenged hydrogen peroxide and hypochlorite (IC50 : 0.7 μM and 37.0 μM, respectively), but had no effect on superoxide. Lipid peroxidation in rat liver microsomes was inhibited by mesalazine (IC50 : 12.6 μM). Mesalazine significantly inhibited (P