Effect of Gingever® and Probiotics in Dextran Sulfate Sodium (DSS) Induced Ulcerative Colitis in Mice and Its Effects on the Gut Microbiota

OBJECTIVES: Inflammatory bowel disease is a chronic inflammatory condition of the gut associated with diarrhea, rectal bleeding, abdominal pain etc. Ginger used extensively in traditional medicine for variety of gut ailments is known to decrease inflammation and improve gut microbial diversity. The study objective was to demonstrate the efficacy of a proprietary ginger formulation (Gingever®) as a stand-alone product or in combination with probiotics; Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium infantis in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) induced ulcerative colitis (UC) model in mice. METHODS: The study was performed in 50 C57BL/6 mice divided into 5 groups (vehicle, UC, UC + Gingever 25 mg/kg body weight (bw), UC + Gingever 50 mg/kg bw, UC + Gingever 50 mg/kg bw + Probiotics 67 mg/animal). Ulcerative colitis was induced in mice by administering 2.5% DSS for 9 days. Gingever was administered stand-alone or in combination with probiotics by an oral route for 9 consecutive days. Body weight, disease activity index, water consumption and feed consumption were recorded. On Day 9, animals were euthanized, the length of each colon was measured, observed for gross pathological changes, and processed for histopathology. Fecal samples were collected for 16s rRNA sequencing. Colon tissue was used for transcript profiling for inflammatory gene panels. RESULTS: Mice treated with Gingever or Gingever + probiotics showed significant (P < 0.0001) improvement in clinical signs of colitis as seen by reduction in disease activity index and restoration of body weight starting from day 3 and colon length as compared (P < 0.05) to disease control group. Histopathological evaluation of colonic tissue further corroborated protective effect of the treatment with restored intestinal crypts, reduced atrophy of epithelial structures and reduced goblet cell activity of the gut wall as compared to disease control. Further Gingever and combination along with probiotics also significantly downregulated a panel of inflammatory genes and restored the diversity of healthy gut microbiome. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrated significant protective effects of Gingever as stand-alone or in combination with probiotics as effective in reducing the sign and symptoms of ulcerative colitis. FUNDING SOURCES: OmniActive Health Technologies Limited.