Total flavone of Abelmoschus Manihot improves colitis by promoting the growth of Akkermansia in mice

作者：Fan Bu, Yang Ding, Tuo Chen, Qiong Wang, Rong Wang, Jin‐Yong Zhou, Feng Jiang, Dan Zhang, Minmin Xu, Guo‐Ping Shi, Yugen Chen · 发表于：Scientific Reports · 年份：2021 · DOI：10.1038/s41598-021-00070-7 · 被引用次数：33 · 研究领域：Ethnobotanical and Medicinal Plants Studies、Essential Oils and Antimicrobial Activity、Herbal Medicine Research Studies

The total flavone of Abelmoschus manihot (TFA), a compound extracted from the flowers of Abelmoschus manihot (L.) Medic, has been widely used for the treatment of Crohn's disease, chronic glomerulonephritis and other diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of TFA on the gut microbiota and intestinal barrier in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced experimental colitis. C57BL/6J mice were treated with 2.5% DSS in drinking water to induce colitis. Mice were orally administered TFA (62.5 mg/kg, 125 mg/kg) or prednisone acetate (PAT, 2.5 mg/kg) once daily for 7 days. Biological samples were collected for analysis of inflammatory cytokines, gut microbiota and intestinal barrier integrity. TFA-H (125 mg/kg) markedly attenuated DSS-induced colon shortening and histological injury in experimental colitis. The therapeutic effect was similar to that of PAT administration. TFA-H notably modulated the dysbiosis of gut microbiota induced by DSS and greatly enriched Akkermansia muciniphila (A. muciniphila). Moreover, TFA-H remarkably ameliorated the colonic inflammatory response and intestinal epithelial barrier dysfunction. Interestingly, TFA directly promotes the growth of A. muciniphila in vitro. Taken together, the results revealed for the first time that TFA, as a prebiotic of A. muciniphila, improved DSS-induced experimental colitis, at least partly by modulating the gut microflora profile to maintain colonic integrity and inhibit the inflammatory response.