ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microorganisms in Vertebrate Digestive Systems
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1582559
Modified Pulsatilla Decoction Ameliorates Ulcerative Colitis by Affecting Gut Microbiota and Metabolite Profiles
Provisionally accepted
- 1College of Animal Science and Technology, Hebei Normal University of Science and Technology, Qinhuangdao, China
- 2Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
- 3South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
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To investigate the therapeutic effects of a specific Modified Pulsatilla Decoction (MPD) on ulcerative colitis (UC) in mice, 32 male Balb/c mice were randomly assigned to four groups: Control, Model, High-dose (H-dose), and Low-dose (L-dose), with 8 mice per group. All groups except the Control group were administered 3% dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) in their drinking water for 7 days to induce acute UC. The H-dose group and L-dose group mice were gavaged respectively with different concentrations of MPD, while the Control group and Model group received the same amount of steriled water by gavage. Clinical symptoms of the mice were observed and recorded throughout the study. Subsequently, pathological sections of the colon tissues were prepared, and 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing and metabolomics analysis were conducted on the intestinal contents. The results indicated that MPD improved the structure and morphology of colon tissue, significantly reducing inflammatory damage in DSS-treated mice.Furthermore, MPD alleviated DSS-induced intestinal injury by enhancing the abundance of beneficial intestinal probiotics, such as Actinobacteriota and Oscillospirates. Metabolomic analysis revealed significant changes in the MPD group compared to the Model group, with 53 metabolites upregulated and 22 downregulated. Key upregulated metabolites included Esculetin, Glutarate semialdehyde, and Licoricone, while downregulated metabolites included Ectoine and Trans-Piceid. KEGG enrichment analysis indicated that MPD primarily targets pathways such as linoleic acid metabolism, VEGF signaling, and glutamatergic synapse, highlighting its potential regulatory effects. In conclusion, we revealed that this MPD has the potential to alleviate DSS-induced colitis by reducing inflammation, regulating intestinal microbiota and intestinal metabolism.
Keywords: Modified Pulsatilla Decoction, ulcerative colitis, 16S rRNA sequencing, Gut Microbiota, Metabolomics
Received: 24 Feb 2025; Accepted: 16 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Fu, Xie, Wang, Wang, Wu, Ye and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yongbo Liu, College of Animal Science and Technology, Hebei Normal University of Science and Technology, Qinhuangdao, China
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