Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench Polysaccharide Alleviates DSS-Induced Colitis in Rats by Restoring Th17/Treg Balance and Regulating Intestinal Flora

• Published in: Foods 2023-11, Vol.12 (23), p.4265
• Main Authors: Li, Yaoxing, Lin, Yongshi, Zheng, Xirui, Zheng, Xiaoman, Yan, Mingen, Wang, Huiting, Liu, Cui
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Colon; Cytokines; Dextran; Dextran sulfate; Dextrans; Dietary supplements; Down-regulation; Drug dosages; Echinacea purpurea; Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench polysaccharide; Enzymes; Ethanol; Feces; Flora; Flow cytometry; Food; Functional foods & nutraceuticals; Growth factors; Helper cells; Immunoregulation; Inflammation; Inflammatory bowel disease; Inflammatory bowel diseases; intestinal flora; Intestinal microflora; Intestine; Laboratory animals; Lymph nodes; Lymphocytes; Lymphocytes T; Microbiota; MyD88 protein; NF-κB protein; Polysaccharides; Serum levels; Signal transduction; Th17/Treg balance; TLR4 protein; TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB; Toll-like receptors; Tumor necrosis factor-TNF; Ulcerative colitis; Variance analysis
• ISSN: 2304-8158; 2304-8158
• DOI: 10.3390/foods12234265

is popularly used as a food supplement or nutritional supplement for its immune regulatory function against various threats. As one of its promising components, (L.) Moench polysaccharide (EPP) has a wide range of biological activities. To evaluate the effect of EPP as a dietary supplement on ulcerative colitis (UC), this study used sodium dextran sulfate (DSS) to induce a UC model, extracted EPP using the ethanol subsiding method, and then supplemented with EPP by gavage for 7 days. Then, we evaluated the efficacy of EPP on DSS rats in terms of immunity, anti-inflammation, and intestinal flora. The result showed that EPP could alleviate colonic shortening and intestinal injury in rats with DSS-induced colitis, decrease the disease activity index (DAI) score, downregulate serum levels of inflammatory cytokines, and contribute to the restoration of the balance between the T helper cells 17 (Th17) and the regulatory T cells (Treg) in the spleen and mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs). Meanwhile, EPP could downregulate the expression of Toll-like receptors 4 (TLR4), myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88), and nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) in colon tissue. In addition, the results of 16SrRNA sequencing showed that EPP also had a regulatory effect on intestinal flora of UC rats. These results indicate that EPP might achieve a beneficial effect on UC rats as a dietary supplement through restoring Th17/Treg balance, inhibiting the TLR4 signaling pathway and regulating intestinal flora, suggesting its possible application as a potential functional food ingredient alleviating UC.