Jianpi Bushen Qingchang Huashi Recipe Ameliorates Ulcerative Colitis in Rats by Regulating Gut Microbiota and Bile Acid

Abstract

Background: The current research was designed to clarify the molecular regulation mechanisms of traditional Chinese medicine Jianpi Bushen Qingchang Huashi Recipe (JBQHR) in ulcerative colitis (UC) rats. Methods: Rat models of UC were established by administering 1 × 10⁶ CFU Clostridium difficile spores. Then rats in each group were treated with the medicine of JBQHR (Z1), Jianpi Bushen (Z2), Bushen Qingchang (Z3), Jianpi Qingchang (Z4), Bushen (Z5), Jianpi (Z6), and Qingchang (Z7). The control rats were only treated with sterile water. The intestinal feces were collected for microbiota and bile acid determination using 16S rRNA sequencing and UPLC-MS. Results: The Firmicutes abundance and the relative abundance between Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes increased markedly in Z1 compared to the model rats. Principal component analysis exhibited a significant difference between the Z1 and the control group, similar to the Z7. Quantitative analysis of 13 bile acids revealed that the expression of TUDCA in Z3 and Z7 groups was substantially increased compared with the model rats. The TCA contents of the control, Z1, Z2, Z3, Z4, and Z5 groups were markedly increased as compared to the model. The GCA levels of the Z5 group and GCDCA contents of Z2, Z3, Z4, and Z5 groups were greatly decreased versus the model. There was no evident difference in the expressions of HDCA, CA, DCA, UDCA, GDCA, and LCA between the treatment groups and the model group. Levels of CDCA in the control and Z1 groups, and THDCA levels in the control, Z1, Z4, and Z5 groups were notably higher versus the model group. Conclusions: Our results demonstrated that the gut microbiota and partial bile acid contents of the UC rats were markedly changed after JBQHR treatment. This study indicates that JBQHR can mediate intestinal microecology and cause changes in bile acid contents in the intestinal lumen, thereby regulating intestinal immune inflammation and repairing the intestinal mucosa.