Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2015 Nov 6;6(4):137-44.
doi: 10.4292/wjgpt.v6.i4.137.

Mesalazine preparations for the treatment of ulcerative colitis: Are all created equal?

Bei Ye  1 , Daniel R van Langenberg  1
Affiliations
Review

Mesalazine preparations for the treatment of ulcerative colitis: Are all created equal?

Bei Ye et al. World J Gastrointest Pharmacol Ther. .

Abstract

Oral mesalazine (also known as mesalamine) is a 5-aminosalicylic acid compound used in the treatment of mild to moderate ulcerative colitis, with high rates of efficacy in induction and maintenance of remission. The therapeutic effect of mesalazine occurs topically at the site of diseased colonic mucosa. A myriad of oral mesalazine preparations have been formulated with various drug delivery methods to minimize systemic absorption and maximise drug availability at the inflamed colonic epithelium. It remains unclear whether different oral mesalazine formulations are bioequivalent. This review aims to evaluate the differences between mesalazine formulations based on the currently available literature and explore factors which may influence the selection of one agent above another.

Keywords: Colitis; Drug delivery systems; Mesalamine; Sulfasalazine; Therapeutic equivalency; Ulcerative.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Proposed mechanism of action of mesalazine at the colonic mucosa. IL: Interleukin; NF κB: Nuclear factorκB; PPAR: Peroxisome proliferative activated receptor; TNF: Tumour necrosis factor.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Algorithm for selection of mesalazine formulations. Anti-TNF: Anti-tumour necrosis factor; AEs: Adverse events; MMX: Multi-matrix system; OD: Once daily; CRP: C-reactive protein.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Sutherland L, Roth D, Beck P, May G, Makiyama K. Oral 5-aminosalicylic acid for maintenance of remission in ulcerative colitis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2002;(4):CD000544. - PubMed
    1. Ligumsky M, Karmeli F, Sharon P, Zor U, Cohen F, Rachmilewitz D. Enhanced thromboxane A2 and prostacyclin production by cultured rectal mucosa in ulcerative colitis and its inhibition by steroids and sulfasalazine. Gastroenterology. 1981;81:444–449. - PubMed
    1. Hawkey CJ, Boughton-Smith NK, Whittle BJ. Modulation of human colonic arachidonic acid metabolism by sulfasalazine. Dig Dis Sci. 1985;30:1161–1165. - PubMed
    1. Rousseaux C, Lefebvre B, Dubuquoy L, Lefebvre P, Romano O, Auwerx J, Metzger D, Wahli W, Desvergne B, Naccari GC, et al. Intestinal antiinflammatory effect of 5-aminosalicylic acid is dependent on peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma. J Exp Med. 2005;201:1205–1215. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ahnfelt-Rønne I, Nielsen OH, Christensen A, Langholz E, Binder V, Riis P. Clinical evidence supporting the radical scavenger mechanism of 5-aminosalicylic acid. Gastroenterology. 1990;98:1162–1169. - PubMed