Traditional Chinese Medicine QPYF as Preventive Treatment for Clostridium difficile Associated Diarrhea in a Mouse Model

Traditional Chinese medicine QPYF has a good effect for treating antibiotic-associated diarrhea in clinical practice. The aim of this study is to test its efficacy to prevent Clostridium difficile associated diarrhea (CDAD) in a mouse model. C57BL/6 mice were infected with Clostridium difficile VPI 10463 after exposure to antimicrobial mixture. QPYF was administered from 7 days prior to Clostridium difficile infection to 20 days after infection, and its effect was compared with no treatment and receiving placebo. The mice were monitored for 20 days and the percent survival, disease activity index, weight loss, colon histopathology, and the levels of toxins in the feces were measured. The expressions of TNF α, MCP-1, NF-κB p65, and phospho-NF-κB p65 in the colon were presented by immunohistochemistry. The survival rate of QPYF group (93.75%) was higher than that of model control group (65%). The mice treated with QPYF had a lower weight loss and disease activity index, compared to the mice with placebo. A significantly lower level of histopathology scores, toxins in the feces, and TNF α, MCP-1, NF-κB p65, and phospho-NF-κB p65 were detected for QPYF-treated mice. Traditional Chinese medicine QPYF showed a good preventive effect for CDAD in a mouse model.