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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Ethnopharmacology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1459668

Alleviation of DSS-induced colitis by Meconopsis polysaccharides correlated with reduced PI3K/AKT signaling and gut microbiome diversity

Provisionally accepted
Jun Dai Jun Dai 1Weidong Wang Weidong Wang 2Fangfang He Fangfang He 2Yujuan Wang Yujuan Wang 1Denglang Zou Denglang Zou 2*
  • 1 West Anhui University, Lu'an, Anhui, China
  • 2 Hubei Shizhen Laboratory, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, Hebei Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a recurrent gastrointestinal disorder that significantly impacts patients' quality of life globally. This study focuses on the polysaccharides (MP) extracted from Meconopsis integrifolia, to investigate its role in alleviating DSS (dextran sulfate sodium)-induced colitis in mice.The study commenced with a comprehensive chemical characterization of Meconopsis polysaccharides. Subsequently, the colitis-alleviating activity of MP was validated through in vivo experiments.The results revealed that MP is primarily composed of ten monosaccharides, exhibits good thermal stability, and has a relatively uniform molecular weight distribution. In vivo experiments demonstrated that MP significantly mitigated DSSinduced weight loss, increased DAI, colon shortening, and tissue damage in mice. Furthermore, MP reduced the levels of inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-6 in serum. Mechanistically, MP exerted its anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting the activation of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Additionally, MP promoted gut microbiota diversity and regulated SCFA concentrations, contributing to an improved intestinal microenvironment and alleviation of colitis symptoms. Discussion: Our findings highlight the superior effectiveness of Meconopsis polysaccharides in alleviating DSS-induced colitis and open new avenues for targeted therapeutic strategies in the treatment of IBD.

    Keywords: Meconopsis polysaccharides, DSS-induced colitis, PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, Gut microbiome diversity, short-chain fatty acids

    Received: 04 Jul 2024; Accepted: 15 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Dai, Wang, He, Wang and Zou. 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: Denglang Zou, Hubei Shizhen Laboratory, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, 430065, Hebei Province, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.