SUMMARY A 5 % aqueous solution of degraded carrageenan derived from the red seaweed Eucheuma spinosum was fed to guinea pigs in their drinking water over a period of 20-45 days. Occult blood in the faeces and multiple ulcers in the caecum, colon and rectum occurred in 100 % of animals by the 30th da'. The clinical and pathological features bear a close resemblance to human ulcerative colitis.The method provides a simple experimental model for the study of various aspects of the pathology of ulcerative lesions in the large intestine as well as the effects of therapeutic agents.

No abstract

No abstract

In a dose-response study, degraded carrageenan (Eucheuma spinosum) was supplied in the drinking fluid at 1.2 and 3% concentrations over two weeks to young adult guinea-pigs. Ulceration of the large bowel was produced in 100% of animals, the severity and extent of damage probably being dose-related. In a time-course study, 3% degraded carrageenan solution supplied to newly-weaned guinea-pigs produced in 100% of animals ulceration in the caecum by four days and in the ascending colon by seven days. The onset of ulceration occurred as early as the second day. This model is convenient and economic for the screening of drugs of potential therapeutic value in human ulcerative colitis.

No abstract