Pulsatilla chinensis Saponins Ameliorate Inflammation and DSS-Induced Ulcerative Colitis in Rats by Regulating the Composition and Diversity of Intestinal Flora

Abstract

Pulsatilla chinensis (Bunge) Regel is a commonly used Chinese medicine for clearing away heat and detoxification, cooling blood, stopping dysentery, and anti-inflammatory effects. Pulsatilla chinensis saponins (PRS) have been identified to be responsible for producing these pharmacological activities. Studies have shown that Pulsatilla decoction has a good therapeutic effect on ulcerative colitis (UC), however, the therapeutic effect of PRS on UC has not been reported. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the possible anti-UC activity of PRS using a dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced rat model, and further study the mechanism of PRS in the treatment of UC. The fecal and colon samples were collected from rats to monitor the changes in the composition and diversity of the intestinal flora, and pathological colon sections were also made to examine the mesenteric hemorheological characteristics. The results showed that PRS significantly reduced the mesenteric blood flow in UC rats and significantly alleviated the inflammatory response, which indicates that saponins are involved in the anti-UC effects of PRS. At the same time, it is also suggested that the regulation of intestinal flora by Pulsatilla chinensis saponins is an important pathway for its anti-UC activity, which may be ascribed to the increase in beneficial bacteria like norank_F_Muribaculaceae and norank_F_norank_O_Clostridia_UCG-014, and decrease in the harmful Bacteroides.

Effects of Herbal Therapy on Intestinal Microbiota and Serum Metabolomics in Different Rat Models of Mongolian Medicine

“…Changes in intestinal microbiota were thought to be involved in the occurrence, development, and treatment of diseases [ 5 ]. To determine whether the intestinal microbiota of rats changed after treatment, 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis was performed.…”

“…Alpha diversity contains four indices ACE, Chao1, Shannon, and Simpson, which is an analysis of species diversity in a single sample. ACE and Chao1 reflect the community richness of species, while Shannon and Simpson represent microbial diversity [ 5 ]. As listed in Table 1 , there were no significant differences in ACE and Chao 1 between the three MGM-DM groups and the corresponding treatment groups ( p > 0.05).…”

“…Currently, the intestinal microbiota is considered to be a new complex organ composed of 10 13 to 10 14 bacteria, which is more than 10 times the total number of human cells [ 4 ]. Intestinal microbiota is one of the important factors of intestinal microenvironment homeostasis, and its changes may affect immune and metabolic functions, leading to various autoimmune and intestinal diseases [ 5 ]. Studies have shown that several diseases, such as Type 2 diabetes mellitus, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and malignant tumors, were closely related to intestinal microecological disorders [ 6 , 7 ].…”

“…The regulation of intestinal microbiota was also considered as a treatment for some diseases, since increasing the proportion of beneficial bacteria and restoring the intestinal barrier could promote the health of the host and reduce the risk of disease [ 8 ]. For example, Liu et al showed that Pulsatilla chinensis Saponins significantly improved dextran sulfate sodium-induced ulcerative colitis and reduced inflammatory response by regulating intestinal microbiota composition and biodiversity [ 5 ]. Another study showed that soluble dietary fiber protected the intestinal mucosal barrier by improving the intestinal microbiota in septic mouse [ 9 ].…”

Network Pharmacology-Based Strategy to Identify the Pharmacological Mechanisms of Pulsatilla Decoction against Crohn’s Disease

“…Molecular docking showed that the protein encoded by the HSP90AA1 gene bound to aureusidin, the bioactive compound of P. chinensis , which had various anti-inflammatory effects on inflammation-related diseases ( Ren et al, 2020 ; Yang et al, 2020 ; Yang et al, 2021 ). Moreover, anemoside B4, a triterpenoid saponin extracted from P. chinensis , had also been found to ameliorate inflammation by regulating intestinal flora ( Liu et al, 2021b ) and pathways associated with NF-κB and MAPK ( Ma et al, 2020 ; Zhang et al, 2021 ). In addition, dihydroberberine from P. chinense , as well as C. chinensis , was shown to alleviate ulcerative colitis by regulating the gut barrier function and immune-inflammatory response ( Li et al, 2021 ).…”