A novel herbal formulation consisting of red ginseng extract and Epimedium koreanum Nakaiattenuated dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis in mice

• Published in: Journal of ginseng research pp. 833 - 842
• Main Authors: Evelyn Saba, Yuan Yee Lee, 김민기, Sun Hee Hyun, Chae Kyu Park, Eunjung Son, 김동선, 김성대, MAN HEE RHEE
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 고려인삼학회 01.11.2020
• Subjects: 기타의약학
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jgr.2020.02.003
• ISSN: 1226-8453

Background: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a commonly encountered large intestine disease in the contemporaryworld that terminates into colorectal cancer; therefore, the timely treatment of UC is of majorconcern. Panax ginseng Meyer is an extensively consumed herbal commodity in South East Asiancountries, especially Korea. It exhibits a wide range of biologically beneficial qualities for almost head-totoeailments in the body. Epimedium koreanum Nakai (EKN) is also a widely used traditional Koreanherbal medicine used for treating infertility, rheumatism, and cardiovascular diseases. Materials and methods: Separately the anti-inflammatory activities of both red ginseng extracts (RGEs)and EKNs had been demonstrated in the past in various inflammatory models; however, we sought tounravel the anti-inflammatory activities of the combination of these two extracts in dextran sulfatesodium (DSS)-induced ulcerative colitis in mice model because the allopathic remedies for UC involvemore side effects than benefits. Results: Our results have shown that the combination of RGE þ EKN synergistically alleviated themacroscopic lesions in DSS-induced colitic mice such as colon shortening, hematochezia, and weightloss. Moreover, it restored the histopathological lesions in mice and decreased the levels of proinflammatorymediators and cytokines through the repression of nuclear factor kappa-light-chainenhancerof activated B cells (NF-kB) and nucleotide-binding domain (NOD)-like receptor protein 3(NLRP-3) expression. In vitro, this combination also reduced the magnitude of nitric acid (NO), proinflammatorymediators and cytokine through NF-kB and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)pathways in RAW 264.7 mouse macrophage cells. Conclusion: In the light of these findings, we can endorse this combination extract as a functional foodfor the prophylactic as well as therapeutic treatment of UC in humans together with allopathic remedies. KCI Citation Count: 13