ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Nutritional Immunology
This article is part of the Research TopicFood-derived Plant Polysaccharides: Composition, Bioavailability and Health-promoting PropertiesView all 3 articles
Polysaccharides from Psoralea corylifolia alleviate CTX-induced immunosuppression in mice by modulating gut microbiota-metabolite-immune signaling
Provisionally accepted
- Huanghua Science and Technology College, Zhengzhou, China
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Although polysaccharides from Psoralea corylifolia L. (PPs) have been reported to possess immune-stimulatory effects, their precise mechanisms of action remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the potential mechanism of PPs in cyclophosphamide (CTX)-induced immunosuppressed mice. The results showed that PPs significantly alleviated CTX-induced immunosuppression, as evidenced by increased immune organ indices, improved intestinal mucosal integrity, elevated serum levels of IL-6 and TNF-α, enhanced activities of ACP, LDH, SOD, and GSH-Px, and reduced MDA content. Western blot analysis indicated that PPs activated the NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathways and upregulated the expression of intestinal tight junction proteins (Claudin-1, Occludin, and ZO-1). Immunohistochemical results further revealed that PPs modulated the numbers of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in the small intestine. Based on 16S rDNA sequencing and untargeted metabolomics analysis, PPs promoted the proliferation of Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group and Lactobacillus, while reducing the abundance of Prevotellaceae_UCG-001, f__Lachnospiraceae_Unclassified, and Alloprevotella, thereby ameliorating metabolic disorders and counteracting CTX-induced immunosuppression. Spearman's correlation coefficient analysis indicated significant associations among gut microbiota, serum metabolites, and immune as well as antioxidant indicators. In conclusion, PPs enhanced the immune response in immunocompromised mice by boosting antioxidant capacity, improving the intestinal barrier, modulating gut microbiota structure, and correcting metabolic disturbances.
Keywords: Gut Microbiota, immune signaling, Immunoregulation, Metabonomics, Polysaccharides from Psoralea corylifolia L.
Received: 02 Dec 2025; Accepted: 16 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Yin, Hong, Zhang, Zhang, Qingfeng, Li, Wang and Chen. 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:
Zhenhua Yin
Lin Chen
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