Cottonseed oil and gut inflammation in mice
What it found
In mice with chemically induced bowel inflammation, cottonseed oil eased weight loss and gut damage.
The work was done in animals, not people.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Colitis severity
Mice given cottonseed oil or corn oil had less severe colitis. They lost less weight and their intestines did not shorten as much.
Inflammatory cytokines
Cottonseed oil or corn oil lowered the expression of inflammatory cytokines including tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-1 beta, IL-6 and IL-17 in colon sections, compared with vehicle treatment.
Oxidative stress markers
Both oils reduced oxidative stress markers, including 8-hydroxyguanosine and nitrotyrosine, in colon sections compared with vehicle treatment.
Intestinal fibrosis
Cottonseed oil reduced the expression of alpha-smooth muscle actin and type I collagen, compared with vehicle treatment, in mice with DSS-induced colitis.
What the authors conclude
“Cottonseed oil protects against intestinal inflammation and the development of intestinal fibrosis by reducing inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress markers, and may therefore be useful as a dietary product with therapeutic benefits for IBD.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say cottonseed oil protects against intestinal inflammation and the development of intestinal fibrosis by reducing inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress markers.
- They suggest it may be useful as a dietary product with therapeutic benefits for IBD.
How it was done
Dietary products may protect against inflammatory bowel disease by shaping gut bacteria and feeding their metabolism. The authors wanted to test whether dietary oils could help treat it.
They compared olive oil, coconut oil, corn oil and cottonseed oil in a mouse model of colitis caused by dextran sodium sulfate. They looked at weight loss, intestine length, inflammatory and oxidative stress markers, and fibrosis in colon sections.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- These are mouse studies. They can't show what happens in people.
- The mice had colitis caused by a chemical, which may not reflect how IBD develops in people.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- The Catholic University of Korea, Republic of Korea
The paper
- Title
- Cottonseed Oil Protects Against Intestinal Inflammation in Dextran Sodium Sulfate-Induced Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Animals and lab studies
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Park JS, Choi J, Hwang SH, et al (2019). Cottonseed Oil Protects Against Intestinal Inflammation in Dextran Sodium Sulfate-Induced Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Journal of medicinal food. doi:10.1089/jmf.2018.4323PubMed 31112045DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error