summary: DKT, a Japanese herbal remedy containing ginger, black pepper, ginseng and maltose, reduces colitis symptoms in rats, a new study reports.
Source: RIKEN
Zhengzheng Shi and colleagues at the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences (IMS) in Japan report the effects of a common herbal remedy on colitis, one of two conditions that comprise inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
published in Frontiers in ImmunologyStudies show that a standard formula containing DKT—ginger, black pepper, ginseng, and maltose—can reduce the severity of colitis in laboratory rats by preventing characteristic imbalances in gut microbes and increasing the levels of immune cells in the colon that fight inflammation. does less.
Colitis is a chronic inflammation of the colon, characterized by an imbalance in gut bacteria and an abnormal immune response. The prevalence has doubled in the past 20 years, and it is currently a global health concern, especially in Europe and North America. Although there are many treatments, they are only partially effective.
This has prompted some researchers to take a closer look at traditional herbal medicines that originated in China, and are now commonly used in Japan and other Asian countries.
Daikenchuto (DKT) is a formula containing specific amounts of ginger, black pepper, ginseng and maltose, and is one of 148 herbal medicines called kampo, developed in Japan and often used by doctors to treat a variety of ailments. is determined for.
Previous research has indicated that DKT may be useful for the treatment of colitis, but evidence has been lacking, particularly at the molecular level. Thus, Shi and the team of researchers at RIKEN IMS led by Naoko Satoh-Takayama detailed its effects on a mouse model of colitis.
Colitis was induced in mice using dextran sodium sulfate, which is toxic to the cells that line the colon. When these mice were given DKT, their body weight remained normal, and their clinical scores for colitis were low. Additional analysis showed that there was little damage to the cells lining the colon.
Thus showing that DKT does indeed help protect against colitis, the researchers proceeded to analyze the mice’s gut microbiome and expression levels of anti-inflammatory immune cells.
The gut microbiome contains many bacteria and fungi that aid in digestion and aid the immune system.
Colitis is associated with an imbalance in these gut microbiota, and the analysis showed that a family of lactic acid bacteria was eliminated in the colytic mice of this study. One of their metabolites, a short-chain fatty acid called propionate, was also depleted.
Treating the model mice with DKT restored most of these missing bacteria – specifically from the genus Lactobacillus – and propionate levels were normal.
Colitis is also associated with an abnormal immune response that causes specific intestinal inflammation.
When the team looked at innate intestinal immune cells, they found that levels of a type of ILC3 called ILC3 were lower in untreated colytic mice than in DKT-treated colonic mice, and mice engineered to lack ILC3. suffered more damage and could not benefit from DKT treatment.
This means that ILC3s are important for protection against colitis and that DKT works by interacting with them. Finally, qPCR analysis indicated that these important immune cells had receptors for propionate, called GPR43, on their surface.
“Dakenchuto is commonly prescribed to prevent and treat gastrointestinal diseases, as well as to reduce intestinal obstruction after colorectal cancer surgery,” says Satoh-Takayama.
“Here we have shown that it can also reduce intestinal diseases such as colitis by rebalancing lactobacillus levels in the gut microbiome. This likely helps reduce inflammatory immune responses by promoting the activity of type 3 innate lymphoid cells.” “
About this IBD research news
Author: Press Office
Source: RIKEN
contact: Press Office – Riken
image: Image is in public domain
see all
Basic Research: open access.
“Daikanchuto, a Japanese herbal formula, alleviates experimental colitis by reshaping the microbial profile and increasing group 3 innate lymphoid cells” by Zhengzheng Shi et al. Frontiers in Immunology
essence
Daikenchuto, a Japanese herbal formula, alleviates experimental colitis by reshaping the microbial profile and increasing group 3 innate lymphoid cells.
Daikenchuto (DKT) is one of the most widely used Japanese herbal formulas for various gastrointestinal disorders. it consists of Xanthoxylum Fructus (Japanese pepper), Zingiberis sycatum rhizoma (processed ginger), ginseng radix, and maltose powder. However, the use of DKT in clinical settings is still controversial due to limited molecular evidence and largely unknown therapeutic effects.
Here, we investigated the anti-inflammatory actions of DKT in a dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis model in mice.
We observed that DKT significantly attenuated the severity of experimental colitis, while members of the symbiotic microbiota such as the family Lactobacilliaceae and increased levels of propionate, an immunomodulatory microbial metabolite, maintained in the colon.
DKT also protected colonic epithelial integrity by upregulating the fucosyltransferase gene foot 2 and antimicrobial peptide genes reg3g, More remarkably, DKT restored fewer colonic group 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3s), mainly RORγtHigh-ILC3s in DSS-induced colitis. We further demonstrated that ILC3-deficient mice showed increased mortality during experimental colitis, suggesting that ILC3s exert a protective function on colonic inflammation.
These findings suggest that DKT has anti-inflammatory activity in part. Via ILC3 function to maintain the colonic microenvironment.
Our study provides insight into the molecular basis of herbal medicine effects, promotes more in-depth mechanistic studies towards herbal formulas and contributes to future drug development.
(This story has not been edited by seemayo staff and is published from a rss feed)