Elegant approach to intervention of homogalacturonan from the fruits of Ficus pumila L. in colitis: Unraveling the role of methyl esters and acetyl groups

Jie Chen; Ming-Shun Mei; Yue Yu; Yonglin Zhao; Huan Gong; Weihao Chen; Baoyu Qiu; Songshan Shi; Munisa Dilixiati; Shunchun Wang; Huijun Wang

doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.137793

Elegant approach to intervention of homogalacturonan from the fruits of Ficus pumila L. in colitis: Unraveling the role of methyl esters and acetyl groups

Int J Biol Macromol. 2024 Nov 16;283(Pt 2):137793. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.137793. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Jie Chen¹, Ming-Shun Mei², Yue Yu¹, Yonglin Zhao¹, Huan Gong¹, Weihao Chen¹, Baoyu Qiu¹, Songshan Shi¹, Munisa Dilixiati³, Shunchun Wang⁴, Huijun Wang⁵

Affiliations

¹ The MOE Key Laboratory for Standardization of Chinese Medicines and the SATCM Key Laboratory for New Resources and Quality Evaluation of Chinese Medicines, Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1200 Cailun Road, Shanghai 201203, PR China.
² School of Chemical Science and Engineering, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Chemical Assessment and Sustainability, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
³ State Key Laboratory Basis of Xinjiang Indigenous Medicinal Plants Resource Utilization, Key Laboratory of Plants Resources and Chemistry of Arid Zone, Xinjiang Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China.
⁴ The MOE Key Laboratory for Standardization of Chinese Medicines and the SATCM Key Laboratory for New Resources and Quality Evaluation of Chinese Medicines, Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1200 Cailun Road, Shanghai 201203, PR China. Electronic address: shunchunwang@126.com.
⁵ The MOE Key Laboratory for Standardization of Chinese Medicines and the SATCM Key Laboratory for New Resources and Quality Evaluation of Chinese Medicines, Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1200 Cailun Road, Shanghai 201203, PR China. Electronic address: wanghj@shutcm.edu.cn.

PMID: 39557266
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.137793

Abstract

Oral administration of homogalacturonan (HG) has shown significant potential in anti-colitis activity, yet the therapeutic efficacy of naturally sourced HG still requires enhancement. Herein, HG from the fruits of Ficus pumila L. was modified by chemical methods and the intervention effect of modified HG with different degrees of methyl-esterification (DM) and acetylation (DA) on dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis in mice was explored. Our results indicated that low-DM HG (DM3 and DM25) primarily mitigated colitis by reducing inflammation (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-17, and IL-6), while high-DM HG (DM54 and DM94) primarily repaired the intestinal barrier. These effects may be attributed to the differential regulation of gut microbiota by HG with varying DM, such as Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group, Lactobacillus, Mucispirillum, Escherichia-Shigella, Bifidobacterium, and Bacteroides. Increased DA reduced the solubility of HG, showing limited anti-inflammatory response but unique advantages in intestinal barrier repair and microbiome regulation (Bifidobacterium, Candidatus_Saccharimonas, Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group, Mucispirillum, and Escherichia-Shigella). Furthermore, various structural parameters and substitution degrees showed no significant impact on HG's regulation of oxidative stress reactions. This study emphasized the importance of substituent effect in determining HG's functional role, providing a robust foundation for the design and development of functional polysaccharides for the prevention of intestinal inflammation and other related conditions.

Keywords: Colitis; Gut microbiota; Pectin.