Effect of enteral nutrition on antioxidant enzyme systems and inflammationin paediatric Crohn's disease

Crohn's disease is characterized by chronic inflammation of the gastrointes tinal mucosa, which can be successfully treated with enteral nutrition. In this study, the activities of the antioxidant metalloenzymes copper/zinc-su peroxide dismutase (Cu/Zn-SOD) and selenium-glutathione peroxidase (Se-GPx) were determined in erythrocyte lysates from children with Crohn's disease. Both enzymes exhibited significantly lower activities relative to healthy control subjects: 1.55 +/- 0.33 vs 2.13 +/- 0.75 SOD U mg(-1) protein (p < 0.025) for Cu/Zn-SOD. and 61.9 +/- 17.7 vs 93.6 +/- 28.7 MU mg(-1) protein (p < 0.01) for Se-GPx. Treatment of patients with a specific polymeric diet , CT3211, for a period of 8 wk did not significantly alter the activities o f the enzymes. In contrast, clinically, enteral nutritional therapy induced a remission in 13/14 children, and a significant fall in both median serum C-reactive protein and mean serum tumour necrosis factor-alpha levels. Conclusion: The results imply that the anti-inflammatory action of enteral nutrition in Crohn's disease is caused by a mechanism other than restitutio n of these antioxidant enzymes.