Evaluating the Effectiveness of Common Mugwort on DSS-reduced Intestinal Epithelial Viability in Zebrafish

Overview

In this study, Danio rerio (zebrafish) were exposed to 0.25% (2.5g/L) dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) for five days to induce intestinal epithelial cell damage. After DSS exposure, the experimental group was treated with Artemisia vulgaris (common mugwort) for up to 3 days in a time-course experiment. Each day, 4 zebrafish were removed and used for a Neutral Red dye (NRD) assay for 60 minutes. Zebrafish were then euthanized in the fridge, dissected for retrieval of the intestine, and observed for NRD intake under a microscope at 40x magnification. Images of the intestines under magnification were captured and further analyzed using imaging software (ImageJ.JS) to quantify NRD coverage. Results revealed exposure time to mugwort for three days to be the most effective, with an average of 92.34% NRD coverage (p<0.05). P-value results were consistent with one-way ANOVA: F-value exceeded the critical value thereby showing statistical significance. Overall, longer exposure time of common mugwort was found to have a positive correlation with NRD coverage in zebrafish intestines, showing an exponential increase over three days. Alternative hypothesis was accepted because the experimental group was found to have increased NRD coverage with increasing exposure to common mugwort treatment.