A novel herbal formulation consisting of red ginseng extract and Epimedium koreanum Nakai-attenuated dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis in mice

Evelyn Saba; Yuan Yee Lee; Minki Kim; Sun-Hee Hyun; Chae-Kyu Park; Eunjung Son; Dong-Seon Kim; Sung-Dae Kim; Man Hee Rhee

doi:10.1016/j.jgr.2020.02.003

A novel herbal formulation consisting of red ginseng extract and Epimedium koreanum Nakai-attenuated dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis in mice

J Ginseng Res. 2020 Nov;44(6):833-842. doi: 10.1016/j.jgr.2020.02.003. Epub 2020 Mar 21.

Authors

Evelyn Saba^{1

2}, Yuan Yee Lee¹, Minki Kim¹, Sun-Hee Hyun³, Chae-Kyu Park³, Eunjung Son⁴, Dong-Seon Kim⁴, Sung-Dae Kim⁵, Man Hee Rhee¹

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Veterinary Physiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Republic of Korea.
² Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Pir Mehr Ali Shah- Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
³ R&D Headquarters, Korean Ginseng Cooperation, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
⁴ KM Convergence Research Division, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
⁵ Research Center, Dongnam Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, Busan, Republic of Korea.

Abstract

Background: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a commonly encountered large intestine disease in the contemporary world that terminates into colorectal cancer; therefore, the timely treatment of UC is of major concern. Panax ginseng Meyer is an extensively consumed herbal commodity in South East Asian countries, especially Korea. It exhibits a wide range of biologically beneficial qualities for almost head-to-toe ailments in the body. Epimedium koreanum Nakai (EKN) is also a widely used traditional Korean herbal medicine used for treating infertility, rheumatism, and cardiovascular diseases.

Materials and methods: Separately the anti-inflammatory activities of both red ginseng extracts (RGEs) and EKNs had been demonstrated in the past in various inflammatory models; however, we sought to unravel the anti-inflammatory activities of the combination of these two extracts in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced ulcerative colitis in mice model because the allopathic remedies for UC involve more side effects than benefits.

Results: Our results have shown that the combination of RGE + EKN synergistically alleviated the macroscopic lesions in DSS-induced colitic mice such as colon shortening, hematochezia, and weight loss. Moreover, it restored the histopathological lesions in mice and decreased the levels of pro-inflammatory mediators and cytokines through the repression of nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) and nucleotide-binding domain (NOD)-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP-3) expression. In vitro, this combination also reduced the magnitude of nitric acid (NO), pro-inflammatory mediators and cytokine through NF-κB and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways in RAW 264.7 mouse macrophage cells.

Conclusion: In the light of these findings, we can endorse this combination extract as a functional food for the prophylactic as well as therapeutic treatment of UC in humans together with allopathic remedies.

Keywords: Epimedium koreanum Nakai; NF-κB; Nucleotide-binding domain (NOD)-like receptor protein 3; Red ginseng extract; Ulcerative colitis.