Phenolic Acids from Fructus Chebulae Immaturus Alleviate Intestinal Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in Mice through the PPARα/NF-κB Pathway

Intestinal ischemia/reperfusion (II/R) injury is a common life-threatening complication with high morbidity and mortality. Chebulae Fructus Immaturus, the unripe fruit of Terminalia chebula Retz., also known as "Xiqingguo" or "Tibet Olive" in China, has been widely used in traditional Tibetan medicine throughout history. The phenolic acids' extract of Chebulae Fructus Immaturus (XQG for short) has exhibited strong antioxidative, anti-inflammation, anti-apoptosis, and antibacterial activities. However, whether XQG can effectively ameliorate II/R injuries remains to be clarified. Our results showed that XQG could effectively alleviate II/R-induced intestinal morphological damage and intestinal barrier injury by decreasing the oxidative stress, inflammatory response, and cell death. Transcriptomic analysis further revealed that the main action mechanism of XQG protecting against II/R injury was involved in activating PPARα and inhibiting the NF-κB-signaling pathway. Our study suggests the potential usage of XQG as a new candidate to alleviate II/R injury.

Antibacterial constituents of Fructus Chebulae Immaturus and their mechanisms of action.

BACKGROUND: To extract, purify, and identify the effective constituents of aqueous extract of Fructus Chebulae Immaturus, and analyze the bactericidal effects of total tannins. METHODS: Preparative thin layer chromatography and semi-preparative high performance liquid chromatography were used to isolate and purify the total tannin fraction. (1)H- and (13)C- NMR spectroscopy were used to elucidate compound structures. The antibacterial activities of total tannins and ethyl gallate on Klebsiella pneumoniae (KP) and Staphylococcus aureus (SA) were determined through minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration assays. Their antibacterial mechanisms of action were explored by transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. RESULTS: Five compounds were isolated: ellagic acid, ethyl gallate, arjugenin, ß-sitosterol, and tri-n-butyl chebulate. Tri-n-butyl chebulate is a newly-reported compound. Total tannins and ethyl gallate both had favorable bactericidal effects against KP and SA. CONCLUSION: In vivo and in vitro pharmacodynamic experiment demonstrated that the effective components of Fructus Chebulae Immaturus possessed significant antibacterial effects, and were nontoxic and safe. TRIAL REGISTRATION: No results of a health care intervention on human participants.