Effect of 5-substituted benzylideneaminosalicylic acid on carrageenan-induced ulcerative colitis.

Mesalazine, a drug of choice in the management of ulcerative colitis, was chemically modified as 5-(E)-substituted benzylideneaminosalicylic acid by condensing 5-aminosalicylic acid with selected aryl aldehydes with an intention to improve its pharmacological profile. The tests were performed to study their anti-inflammatory effect on carrageenan-induced ulcerative colitis in albino rats. The histopathological findings, serum transaminase level and lipid peroxide content in the intestine and liver were taken as indices of pharmacological activity. The azomethine derivative formed from salicylaldehyde (5-ASASB3) was found to have maximum activity and it reversed the disease symptoms in experimental animals The azomethine derivative markedly reduces the ulcerative colitis when compared with parent molecule, mesalazine.