ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Nutritional Immunology
This article is part of the Research TopicHealth Effects of Natural Compounds from PlantsView all 22 articles
Ameliorative effects and mechanism of Panax notoginseng extract on ulcerative colitis mice based on a multi-omics strategy
Provisionally accepted
- 1Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
- 2Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
As a complex and persistent inflammatory disorder of the colon, ulcerative colitis (UC) development is strongly linked to disruptions in gut microbiota, metabolic imbalances in the host, and a compromised intestinal barrier. The traditional Chinese herb Panax notoginseng possesses diverse therapeutic properties, among which its capacity to counteract inflammation is notable. Nevertheless, the precise pathways through which it exerts its anti-UC actions are still not fully elucidated. This research was designed to elucidate the efficacy and molecular mechanisms of P. notoginseng extract in a murine model of UC. Colitis was induced in ICR mice with dextran sulfate sodium (DSS), and the animals were allocated into four experimental groups: a normal control group (CON), a normal group receiving the extract (CONSQ), a DSS-induced model group (DSS), and a DSS-induced group treated with the extract (DSSSQ). Oral administration of 200 mg/kg P. notoginseng extract was given to the CONSQ and DSSSQ groups. Our assessments included the disease activity index, histological examination of colon tissues, expression of key intestinal barrier proteins, profiling of the gut microbial community, and metabolomic analysis of fecal samples. Treatment with the extract was found to repair the compromised gut barrier, as evidenced by increased expression of Claudin-1, Occludin, ZO-1, and MUC-2. It also favorably altered the ecology of the gut microbiota, indicated by a raised Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio and enrichment of probiotic genera like Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus. Furthermore, it markedly lowered the abundance of distinctive metabolites, including LysoPI and Etamiphylline. Correlative analysis integrating multi-omics datasets revealed an interconnected regulatory framework centering on the gut microbiota, host metabolic outputs, and intestinal barrier integrity, suggesting a multi-targeted, synergistic mode of action for P. notoginseng extract in mitigating UC pathology.
Keywords: ulcerative colitis, Gut microbes, P. notoginseng extract, intestinalbarrier, health effects, natural compounds
Received: 20 Oct 2025; Accepted: 19 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Song, Lin, Fu, Wang, Yang and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Hu Yang, huyang05@tmu.edu.cn
Wentian Liu, tliu01@tmu.edu.cn
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.