Comparison of the enteric mucosal immunomodulatory activity of combinations of Coptis chinensis Franch. Rhizomes and Evodia rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth. Fruits in mice with dextran sulphate sodium-induced ulcerative colitis

• Published in: Planta medica Vol. 76; no. 8; p. 766
• Main Authors: Luo, Yingying, Zhao, Hongyan, Liu, Zhenli, Ju, Dahong, He, Xiaojuan, Xiao, Cheng, Zhong, Guoyue, Chen, Shilin, Yang, Dajian, Chan, Albert Sun-Chi, Lu, Aiping
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany 01-05-2010
• Subjects: Animals; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Colitis, Ulcerative - chemically induced; Colitis, Ulcerative - immunology; Dextran Sulfate - toxicity; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Flow Cytometry; Immunity, Mucosal - drug effects; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; Ranunculaceae - chemistry; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; Rutaceae - chemistry
• ISSN: 1439-0221
• DOI: 10.1055/s-0029-1240701

Combinations of crude rhizomes of Coptis chinensis Franch., Ranunculaceae, and fruits of Evodia rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth., Rutaceae, at a ratio of 6 : 1 (formula A) and 1 : 6 (formula B) were extracted with boiling water, and their modulatory activity on enteric mucosal immune responses in mice with dextran sulphate sodium-induced ulcerative colitis was investigated. The results showed that both formulas could reduce the severity of inflammation in the colon. Formula A at a low dose can decrease myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, and formula B was inactive. Both formulas did not affect the percentages of CD4 (+) and CD8 (+) T cells in the periphery, but they evoked an increase of CD8 (+) T cells among the enteric intraepithelial lymphocytes. Formula B at a low dose could increase both CD4 (+) and CD8 (+) cells, and formula A at a high dose could only increase CD8 (+) T cells among the Peyer's patch lymphocytes (p < 0.05). Both formulas did not affect the percentages of CD4 (+) and CD8 (+) T cells among the lamina propria lymphocytes, but decreased the serum concentration of IL-1 beta (p < 0.05 at a low dose of formula A) and enhanced the level of IL-10 in serum (p < 0.05 at a low dose formula B). We conclude that both formulas have a similar modulating effect on enteric mucosal immune responses, the major difference being that formula A could decrease the level of IL-1 beta, while formula B could increase the IL-10 dose in serum.