Astragalus membranaceus and Panax notoginseng saponins improves intestinal l-arginine absorption and protects against intestinal disorder in vivo

• Published in: Food Science and Technology Research Vol. 29; no. 2; pp. 129 - 140
• Main Authors: Huang, Su-Fen, Shen, You-Cheng, Ou, Ching-Hui, Tang, I-Chu, Yang, Han-Wen, Kao, Yu-Ting, Chang, Wen-Liang, Chang, Tsu-Chung
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Tsukuba Japanese Society for Food Science and Technology 01.01.2023; Japan Science and Technology Agency
• Subjects: Absorption; Amino acids; Arginine; Astragalus membranaceus; Body weight; Caco-2 cell; cationic amino acid transporter; Colitis; Dietary supplements; Food intake; Gene expression; Herbal medicine; Intestine; l-arginine; Panax notoginseng; Peroxidase; plasma l-arginine level; Saponins; TNBS-induced-colitis rat
• ISSN: 1344-6606; 1881-3984
• DOI: 10.3136/fstr.FSTR-D-22-00116

Nutritional supplementation with l -arginine has been shown to promote cell growth and exercise performance, and is helpful to various disorders. Astragalus membranaceus and Panax notoginseng are traditional herbal medicines that display a wide range of beneficial activities. To understand their effects on l -arginine absorption in human intestinal cells, in vitro and in vivo experiments were performed using a standardized mixture of Astragalus membranaceus and Panax notoginseng saponins (APS). Our studies indicated that APS increased the expression of cationic amino acid transporter 1 (CAT1) and L- arginine transport in human Caco-2 cells. In addition, APS benefits TNBS-induced-colitis rats by increasing food intake, body weight, intestinal epithelial integrity, CAT1 gene expression, and blood l -arginine level. APS also reduces intestinal inflammation associated with increased myeloperoxidase activity in colitis rats. Further studies indicated that the plasma l -arginine level significantly increases in human subjects administered APS.