Papers of the Week

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic recurrent inflammatory disease of the digestive tract that causes pain and weight loss and also increases the risk of colon cancer. Inspired by the benefits of plant-derived nanovesicles and aloe, we herein report aloe-derived nanovesicles, including aloe vera-derived nanovesicles (VNVs), aloe arborescens-derived nanovesicles (ANVs), and aloe saponaria-derived nanovesicles (SNVs) and evaluate their therapeutic potential and molecular mechanisms in a dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced acute experimental colitis mouse model. Aloe-derived nanovesicles not only facilitate markedly reduced DSS-induced acute colonic inflammation, but also enable the restoration of tight junction (TJ) and adherent junction (AJ) proteins to prevent gut permeability in DSS-induced acute colonic injury. These therapeutic effects are ascribed to the anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects of aloe-derived nanovesicles. Therefore, aloe-derived nanovesicles are a safe treatment option for IBD.