Fermentation products of Danshen relieved dextran sulfate sodium-induced experimental ulcerative colitis in mice

With the increased incidence and recognition, ulcerative colitis (UC) has become a global public health problem in the world. Although many immunosuppressants and biological drugs have been used for UC treatment, the cure rate is still very low. It is necessary to find some safe and long-term used medicine for UC cure. In recent years, fermented Chinese medicine has been more and more used in the treatments of inflammatory and chronic diseases. In this manuscript, Lactobacillus Rhamnosus (F-B4-1) and Bacillus Subtillis Natto (F-A7-1) were selected to ferment enzymatic Danshen. The fermented Danshen products were gavaged in the dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced UC model mice. It is suggested that after fermented Danshen with Rhamnosus and then with Natto , Danshen had the better results to attenuate symptom of DSS-induced UC. It reduced the loss of body weight and disease activity index (DAI) and inhibited the abnormally short colon lengths and the colonic damage. Moreover, it suppressed pro-inflammatory cytokine expression during DSS-induced UC. The results indicated that fermented Danshen relieved DSS-induced UC in mice. And the Danshen fermented by probiotics might be an effective drug to treat UC in the clinic in the future.