Improvement effects of pectic polysaccharide isolated from Saururus chinensis leaves on dextran sulfate sodium-induced ulcerative colitis in BALB/c mice

In this study, the improvement effects of oral administration of polysaccharides isolated from Saururus chinensis on a DSS-induced ulcerative colitis mouse model were evaluated. To achieve this, S. chinensis-derived crude polysaccharides (SCP) were extracted using hot water extraction and ethanol precipitation. SCP is composed primarily of eight monosaccharides, including galacturonic acid (46.6%), galactose (10.4%), arabinose (5.6%), and rhamnose (3.8%), that are typical sugar components of pectic polysaccharides. Oral administration of SCP recovered body weight loss and significantly alleviated various ulcerative colitis symptoms such as stool consistency, blood in stool, and blood in the anus. Additionally, the DSS-treated group that exhibited a decrease in colon length, and SCP treatment significantly reduced colon length shortening in a dose-dependent manner. Levels of inflammatory factors such as interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, and myeloperoxidase were lower in the SCP-treated groups than they were in the DSS-treated group. In contrast, Alcian blue-periodic acid Schiff staining revealed that SCP treatment effectively maintained the amount of mucus and goblet cells in the intestinal lumen compared to that in the DSS-treated group. The short-chain fatty acid content decreased by DSS administration was recovered through oral administration of SCP, and the amount of butyric acid was significantly improved. Consequently, the aforementioned results suggest that SCP isolated from S. chinensis is a potent candidate for use as a new health functional food and pharmaceutical ingredient for colitis treatment.