Antioxidant Therapy in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are a group of chronic, incurable diseases of the digestive tract, the etiology of which remains unclear to this day. IBD result in significant repercussions on the quality of patients' life. There is a continuous increase in the incidence and prevalence of IBD worldwide, and it is becoming a significant public health burden. Pharmaceuticals commonly used in IBD management, for example, mesalamine, sulfasalazine, corticosteroids, and others, expose patients to diverse, potentially detrimental side effects and frequently do not provide sufficient disease control. The chronic inflammation underlies the etiology of IBD and closely associates with oxidative/nitrosative stress and a vast generation of reactive oxygen/nitrogen species. Relative to this, several substances with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties are now intensively researched as possible adjunctive or independent treatment options in IBD. Representatives of several different groups, including natural and chemical compounds will be characterized in this dissertation.

Automated summary

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are chronic, incurable diseases of the digestive tract with unclear etiology, resulting in significant impact on patients' quality of life. The incidence and prevalence of IBD are continuously increasing worldwide, becoming a significant public health burden. Current pharmaceutical management options often have side effects and may not provide sufficient disease control, leading to research on antioxidant and anti-inflammatory substances as potential treatment options.