FengLiao affects gut microbiota and the expression levels of Na+/H+ exchangers, aquaporins and acute phase proteins in mice with castor oil-induced diarrhea

Abstract

The severe side effects of chemosynthetic anti-diarrhea drugs have created an interest in low-toxic alternative plant-derived compounds. FengLiao consists of Polygonum hydropiper Linn. and Daphniphyllum calycinum Bench., and is widely used in China to treat diarrhea due to low levels of toxicity. In this study, the effects of FengLiao were analyzed in a castor oil-induced diarrhea model, using the anti-diarrhea drug, loperamide, as the positive control. The effects were evaluated using stool characteristics and the expression levels of various diarrhea-related factors in the jejunum and liver, as well as changes in the microbiota of the jejunum. The symptoms of diarrhea and stool consistency were improved through FengLiao and loperamide treatment. Furthermore, FengLiao down-regulated alpha 1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, and up-regulated transferrin (TRF) mRNA levels in the liver, and down-regulated Aquaporin 3 (AQP3) and Na+/H+ exchanger isoform 8 (NHE8) expression in the epithelial cells of the jejunum. It also increased the relative abundance of Bifidobacterium, Aerococcus, Corynebacterium_1 and Pseudomonas, and lowered the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes (F/B) ratio, which maintained the balance between immunity and intestinal health. Taken together, FengLiao alleviated castor oil-induced diarrhea by altering gut microbiota, and levels of jejunum epithelial transport proteins and acute phase proteins.

Camelina sativa Oil Treatment Alleviates Castor Oil-Induced Diarrhea in ICR Mice by Regulating Intestinal Flora Composition

“…An elevated F/B ratio indicates that the body is in a state of inflammation and immunological imbalance. Excessive growth of Firmicutes can produce metabolic endotoxins, such as lipopolysaccharides, that trigger systemic inflammation [25,36]. However, in this study, we obtained a contradictory result; the F/B ratio decreased with diarrhea and intestinal inflammation.…”

“…Castor oil is often used in experiments to induce diarrhea because of its reproducibility and stability [25,26]. Castor oil stimulates intestinal mucosal cells and reduces the active absorption of Na + and K + , thereby inducing intestinal inflammation and diarrhea [27,28].…”

Preventive Effect of Depolymerized Sulfated Galactans from Eucheuma serra on Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli-Caused Diarrhea via Modulating Intestinal Flora in Mice

“…The standard for establishing a diarrhea model generally uses diarrhea rate and diarrhea index as the main indicators of diarrhea [ 65 ]. The diarrhea rate was calculated as the percentage of diarrhea mice in the total number of mice.…”

Roles and regulation of Aquaporin-3 in maintaining the gut health: an updated review

“…A recent study has indicated that quercetin effectively attenuated human vascular endothelial dysfunction by inhibiting MPO/H 2 O 2 -mediated hypochlorous acid production as well as Nox function ( Li et al, 2023 ). Thus, the application of natural compounds may be helpful for reducing brain ischemia injury by targeting MPO-mediated oxidative stress and inflammation ( Chen et al, 2020 ).…”