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

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a commonly encountered large intestine disease in the contemporary world that terminates into colorectal cancer; therefore, the timely treatment of UC is of major concern. Panax ginseng Meyer is an extensively consumed herbal commodity in South East Asian countries, especially Korea. It exhibits a wide range of biologically beneficial qualities for almost head-to-toe ailments in the body. Epimedium koreanum Nakai (EKN) is also a widely used traditional Korean herbal medicine used for treating infertility, rheumatism, and cardiovascular diseases. 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 to unravel the anti-inflammatory activities of the combination of these two extracts in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced ulcerative colitis in mice model because the allopathic remedies for UC involve more side effects than benefits. Our results have shown that the combination of RGE + EKN synergistically alleviated the macroscopic lesions in DSS-induced colitic mice such as colon shortening, hematochezia, and weight loss. Moreover, it restored the histopathological lesions in mice and decreased the levels of pro-inflammatory mediators and cytokines through the repression of nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) and nucleotide-binding domain (NOD)-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP-3) expression. In vitro, this combination also reduced the magnitude of nitric acid (NO), pro-inflammatory mediators and cytokine through NF-κB and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways in RAW 264.7 mouse macrophage cells. In the light of these findings, we can endorse this combination extract as a functional food for the prophylactic as well as therapeutic treatment of UC in humans together with allopathic remedies.