Acta Veterinaria et Zootechnica Sinica ›› 2025, Vol. 56 ›› Issue (12): 6458-6476.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2025.12.047

• BASIC VETERINARY MEDICINE • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Mechanism of Baicalein Alleviating Dextran Sulfate Sodium Induced Colitis by Modulating Gut Microbiota in Mouse Model

WANG Kun, ZHANG Yongjie, HU Ruiying, GUO Liyang, CHEN Chunli*   

  1. College of Veterinary Medicine, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China
  • Received:2025-03-07 Published:2025-12-24

Abstract: This study was conducted to investigate the effects of baicalein (Bai) on inflammation, intestinal barrier and intestinal flora in mice with ulcerative colitis (UC). After 7 days of adaptive feeding, 60 BALB/c male mice aged 5 weeks were randomly divided into 6 groups: blank group (NC group), dextran sodium sulfate group (DSS group), mixed antibiotics + dextran sodium sulfate group (ABX+DSS group), dextran sodium sulfate + baicalein group (DSS+Bai group). Mixed antibiotics + dextran sodium sulfate + fecal microbiota transplantation group (ABX+DSS+FMT group, ADF group) and baicalein administration group (Bai group). Animal models of acute ulcerative colitis were replicated by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS), and the therapeutic effect of baicalein in inflammatory bowel disease was observed, and the effect of baicalein on intestinal flora in inflammatory state was analyzed, so as to explore the mechanism of baicalein in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. The results showed that baicalein could alleviate intestinal inflammation in colitis mice through PPAR-γ/NF-κB pathway, significantly down-regulated the expression of IL-1β and TNF-α in DSS group (P<0.001), and up-regulated the expression of IL-10 and colonic protein (P<0.001). Histopathological sections showed that colon epithelial cells in the DSS group had a large number of exfoliation, necrosis and disintegration, intestinal villi structure was blurred, crypts were missing, mucosa and submucosa were infiltrated by a large number of inflammatory cells, fibrotic structures appeared in the submucosa, glandular structures in the mucosa were destroyed, and goblet cells were greatly reduced. The colon structure of Bai treatment group was intact, there were inflammatory cells in the mucosa and submucosa, and the degree of intestinal epithelial exfoliation was significantly reduced than that of DSS group. Further evaluation of intestinal flora showed that baicalein could regulate intestinal flora compared with DSS group, mainly Firmicutes and Proteobacteria, and baicalein administration group could significantly increase the abundance of Firmicutes, reduce the abundance of Proteobacteria, promote the growth of intestinal probiotics and inhibit pathogenic bacteria, thus achieving the therapeutic effect of colitis. In conclusion, baicalein can relieve colitis induced by sodium glucan sulfate, and play a therapeutic effect by regulating intestinal flora through PPAR-γ/NF-κB pathway.

Key words: baicalein, animal colitis, intestinal flora, intestinal inflammation, PPAR-γ/NF-κB

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