Effect of Oren-gedoku-to (Huang-Lian-Jie-Du-Tang) on the murine colitis induced by dextran sulfate sodium

In the present study, experimental ulcerative colitis models were produced in mice by providing them with drinking water containing synthetic dextran sulfate sodium. Mice that developed acute colitis showed signs of diarrhea, gross rectal bleeding and weight loss within 10 days. It was found that Oren-gedoku-to (1 g/kg body weight) restored the body weight which was lost, increased the hemoglobin content and decreased the gross rectal bleeding. We demonstrated that Oren-gedoku-to not only decreased the degree of inflammation, but also improved the histological signs of inflammation such as infiltration by polymorphonuclear leukocytes and multiple erosive lesions. Furthermore, analysis of splenic lymphocytes showed that Oren-gedoku-to increased the LFA-1 expression on CD3^+ cell and decreased the LFA-1 expression on other cells. We demonstrated that successful treatment of established DSS colitis can be achieved by administration of Oren-gedoku-to.