Insights & Discussion
Chinese herbal medicines could potentially relieve ulcerative colitis by moderating the gut microbiota and intestinal immunity loop.
The study emphasizes on the possible use of Chinese herbal medicines, which include single herbs, herbal formulas and derived constituents, in treating ulcerative colitis (UC), a recurring inflammatory bowel disease. With a focus on how these medicines interact with and modify the gut microbiota, the mechanism involves regulating the intestinal homeostasis to counter UC. It deals with balancing microbial dysbiosis, or the imbalance of microbes in the body, and abnormal gut immunity, two key initiators of inflammatory responses in UC.
The paper reviews several clinical trials which have been conducted, all exhibiting the effectiveness of Chinese herbal medicines on patients diagnosed with UC. In the trials, these derived substances have shown a protective effect against UC, offering the potential possibility of them being explored as conventional methods of UC treatments in the future. Not every trial has resulted in absolute success, but the overall results are promising and indicate a robust potential direction for UC treatment science.
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A polysaccharide from Tremella aurantialba improves ulcerative colitis symptoms by targeting epithelial cell ferroptosis and modulating the gut microbiota.
2024 International Journal of Biological Macromolecules Tremella aurantialba polysaccharides alleviate ulcerative colitis in mice by improving intestinal barrier via modulating gut microbiota and inhibiting ferroptosis Peng G, Wang S, Zhang H, Xie F, Jiao L, Yuan Y, et al.
Animal Study Gut Microbiota Intestinal Barrier Snow Fungus
The methodology used in this research involved isolating TA 2-1, a specific polysaccharide from Tremella Aurantialba, and studying its effects on ulcerative colitis. This was done by introducing it to Caco-2 cells that were undergoing ferroptosis and assessing its impact on cell viability. The influence of TA 2-1 was also examined in mice with artificially induced ulcerative colitis, verifying its ameliorating effects in an in-vivo context. The structure of TA 2-1 and its components were analysed and the polysaccharide's interaction with gut microbiota was explored to understand how it might modulate symptoms or prevent cell death.
The results of this study showed that TA 2-1 does not only decrease the rate of cell death in epithelial cells undergoing ferroptosis, but it also repairs the intestinal barrier by upregulating specific proteins such as claudin-1 and zonula occludens-1. TA 2-1 was also found to suppress lipid peroxidation, thus inhibiting ferroptosis. Further investigation revealed that TA 2-1 may alleviate ulcerative colitis by influencing the composition or metabolites of gut microbiota. This research offers promising insight into the potential of TA 2-1 in treating ulcerative colitis.