Protective effect of Coptis chinensis extract on ulcerative colitis in mice and its effects on intestinal flora

TANG Sailin; LIN Xiulian; YUE Meishan; ZENG Jianguo

doi:10.13557/j.cnki.issn1002-2813.2025.03.017

Abstract：The study aimed to explore the prevention and treatment effect of Coptis chinensis extract(CCE)on ulcerative colitis(UC)induced by sodium dextranate sulfate(DSS)in mice.Six groups of sixty C57BL/6 mice were randomly selected,namely control group(CON),DSS model group,mesalazine(MES)positive control group(200 mg/kg),low CEE(CEE-L,600 mg/kg),medium CEE(CEE-M,1 000 mg/kg),high CEE(CEE-H,1 400 mg/kg)dose group.The pre-test period was seven days and the formal test preiod was 14 days.The results showed that compared with DSS group,CCE group extremely inhibited weight loss(P＜0.01),DAI score and colon length of UC mice were extremely increased(P＜0.01).CEE group improved the pathological injury of colon tissue in UC mice,the intestinal villi and crypt structure were restored,and there was a decrease in the invasion of inflammatory cells.Compared with DSS group,the expression levels of interleukin-1β(IL-1β),interleukin-6(IL-6),and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)mRNA in colon of CEE group were extremely down-regulated(P＜0.01).At the phylum level,there was a substantial decrease in the relative abundance of Proteobacteria and Campylobacter in the CEE group when compared to the DSS group.There was a notable rise in the relative abundance of Verrucomicrobacteria in the CEE-L and CEE-M groups,and the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes and Desulphurobacteria in CEE-M and H groups were significantly increased.In terms of genus level,in the CEE-M and CEE-H groups,there was a notable decrease in the relative abundance of Escherichia-Shigella,but an apparent rise in the relative abundance of Ackermania in the CEE-L and CEE-M groups.The study indicates that CCE can play a preventive and protective role in UC mice by inhibiting the expression of inflammatory factors and maintaining the homeostasis of intestinal flora.