LAVENDER PROTECTS
AGAINST INFECTIOUS
COLITIS
JESSICA BAKER
SUPERVISOR: DR. DEANNA GIBSON
UBC MURC 2011
INFLAMMATORY BOWL DISEASE (IBD): COLITIS

IBD: Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease

It is a chronic, relapsing, immunologically-mediated disorder
in the gastrointestinal tract

Unknown cause, although onset and activation is thought to
develop in predisposed individuals

Currently there are limited therapeutic options
BACTERIA-INDUCED COLITIS MODEL

Use a bacterium called Citrobacter rodentium: a mousespecific intestinal pathogen

Some important inflammatory factors:


TNF-α, IFN-γ, iNOS, IL-22, MIP-2α and IL-10
Results in intestinal damage similar to human colitis
LAVANDULA X INTERMEDIA: OKANAGAN LAVENDER
Developed in Dr. Soheil Mahmoud’s Lab at UBC Okanagan
 Objective: to improve oil composition and yield

Terpene
Wild Type Oil
Okanagan
Lavender Oil
Cineole (%)
13.73 ± 1.28
27.09 ± 1.78
Camphor (%)
11.16 ± 0.35
3.03 ± 0.26
Linalool (%)
35.92 ± 2.27
36.28 ± 4.16
Linalool acetate (%)
25.34 ± 2.34
1.86 ± 0.36
Borneol (%)
3.55 ± 0.59
21.01 ± 3.63
Desautels, A, et al. “Suppression of Linalool Acetate production in Lavandula x intermedia.”Natural Products Communications 4.11 (2009): 1533-1536.
Santos, F.A., et al. “1,8-cineole (eucalyptol), a monoterpene oxide attenuates the colonic damage in rats on acute TNBS-colitis.” Food and Chemical
Toxicology 42 (2004): 579-584.
Tung, Yu-Tang, et al. “Anti-inflammation activities of essential oil and its constituents from indigenous cinnamon (Cinnamomum osmophloeum) twigs.” Bioresource
Technology 99 (2008): 3908-3913.
HYPOTHESIS

We hypothesize that Okanagan Lavender oil will
decrease the severity of infectious colitis due to its
ability to increase pathogen clearance as well as its
ability to decrease inflammation and associated
inflammatory mediators
PROCEDURE:
B6 (C57BL/6)
Mice
OR
C3H (C3H/HeOuJ)
Mice
Group 1: Mineral oil
OR
Group 2: Lavender oil
Orally gavaged throughout
10-day infection
Orally gavaged with
C. rodentium for 10 days
Monitored morbidity
and mortality
Lower Gastrointestinal Tract
Cecum
RNAlater: extract the RNA
for q-PCR
Distal Colon
H&E stain: Scoring
Spleen
AND
Mesenteric Lymph Nodes
Bacterial counts to
assess systemic infection
B6 Mice
C3H Mice
• Lavender-treated mice susceptible to lethal infectious colitis (C3H mice)
showed a drastic decrease in mortality
• Lavender-treated mice that survive colitis (B6 mice) showed significantly less
morbidity (P< 0.05; Mann-Whitney T-test)
MICROGRAPHS OF THE CECUM
Uninfected
Infected + Mineral Oil
Lavender Oil significantly reduces
• Edema
• Infiltration
• Epithelial hyperplasia
• Goblet cell depletion
• Epithelial damage
(P< 0.01, Mann-Whitney T-test)
Infected + Lavender Oil
IN VITRO AND IN VIVO EVIDENCE THAT LAVENDER OIL CAN
DIRECTLY KILL THIS PATHOGEN
In Vivo
In Vitro
Colony Forming Units
MLN
Mineral Oil
Lavender Oil
Spleen
Lavender
Oil
Mineral
Oil
Q-PCR RESULTS
The mice orally gavaged with lavender oil showed a significant
modulation in the immune response (P< 0.05, Mann-Whitney T-test)
IMMUNOFLUORESCENCE RESULTS
Infected +
Infected +
Lavender-treated mice showed a drastic decrease in immune cell infiltration
CONCLUSION

The significant decrease in morbidity, cecal tissue
damage, pro-inflammatory cytokine production
and immune cell infiltration provide strong
support for our hypothesis that Okanagan
Lavender Oil protects against infectious colitis
Terpene

Two mechanisms
 Antimicrobial
 Immune Modulation
Okanagan
Lavender Oil
Cineole (%)
27.09 ± 1.78
Camphor (%)
3.03 ± 0.26
Linalool (%)
36.28 ± 4.16
Linalool acetate (%)
1.86 ± 0.36
Borneol (%)
21.01 ± 3.63
FUTURE

Results so far warrant further analysis

Isolate and test Lavender components

Need to do more animal studies with higher N number and
varied dose amounts

Need to examine overall health in other areas of the body

Potential outcomes:
An anti-inflammatory drug for chronic intestinal diseases such as colitis
 An antimicrobial drug for intestinal infectious diseases

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Dr. Deanna Gibson (Supervisor)

Dr. Soheil Mahmoud and Lab

Dr. Sanjoy Ghosh

Samantha Makarenko

Kirsty Brown

Dr. Mark Rheault

Brie Matier

Irving K. Barber Endowment fund

Everyone with MURC 2011