{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,22]],"date-time":"2026-09-22T21:52:48Z","timestamp":1790113968002,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,1]],"date-time":"2025-10-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1759276800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Nutr."],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Background<\/jats:title><jats:p>Curcumin has been proved to relieve ulcerative colitis (UC). However, the premature release of gastrointestinal tract will lead to insufficient accumulation of curcumin in colon and affect the improvement effect. Therefore, we developed a kind of oral nanoparticles (Zein-CS-Cur-Que), which made quercetin promote the absorption of curcumin in colon by efflux carrier and inhibiting metabolic enzymes, and at the same time encapsulated curcumin and quercetin with zein and sodium caseinate to promote the targeted release in colon.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>3.5% dextran sodium sulfate was used to establish ulcerative colitis (UC) model in mice, and the improvement effect of nanoparticles on ulcerative colitis was evaluated by comprehensive basic score (weight change rate, DAI score, liver index, and spleen index), inflammatory factors (TNF-\u03b1, IL-1\u03b2, IL-6, IL-10, and IFN-\u03b3) and oxidative stress (MDA, SOD, CAT, and MPO). The intestinal flora was sequenced by 16S rRNA, and the secretion of short-chain fatty acids was determined by GC-MS. Immunohistochemistry (ZO-1, Claudin-1, and Occludin) and real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) (TLR4\/NF-\u03baB and JAK2\/STAT3) were used to analyze the expression of related genes.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>The results showed that Zein-CS-Cur-Que can reduce pro-inflammatory factors (INF-\u03b3, IL-6, IL-1\u03b2, and TNF-\u03b1), increase anti-inflammatory factor (IL-10), up-regulate the expression level of tight junction proteins (ZO-1, Claudin-1, and Occludin) to restore the intestinal barrier, and down-regulate the expression of related protein genes in TLR4\/NF-\u03baB and JAK2\/STAT3. Ultimately, modulating the relative abundance of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes promotes the production of short-chain fatty acids and reverses the damage caused by ulcerative colitis.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>Nanoparticles (Zein-CS-Cur-Que) can significantly reduce inflammatory reaction, restore intestinal barrier, regulate the expression of related protein genes in TLR4\/NF-\u03baB and JAK2\/STAT3 pathways, and significantly improve ulcerative colitis. Furthermore, the construction of Zein-CS-Cur-Que provides a scientific basis for increasing curcumin targeting and ameliorating ulcerative colitis.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fnut.2025.1696699","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,1]],"date-time":"2025-10-01T15:34:31Z","timestamp":1759332871000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["Oral administration of curcumin and quercetin nanoparticles can improve ulcerative colitis by regulating intestinal microorganisms"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Yingxi","family":"Li","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhiyue","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shiyang","family":"Zhao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tianyi","family":"Huang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jianzhong","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sitong","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yaxin","family":"Sang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wenlong","family":"Yu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xianghong","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2471","DOI":"10.1021\/acschembio.9b00608","article-title":"N-terminomics\/TAILS profiling of proteases and their substrates in ulcerative colitis","volume":"14","author":"Gordon","year":"2019","journal-title":"ACS Chem Biol"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"152","DOI":"10.1016\/j.intimp.2017.06.022","article-title":"Protective effects of paeoniflorin on TNBS-induced ulcerative colitis through inhibiting NF-kappaB pathway and apoptosis in mice","volume":"50","author":"Gu","year":"2017","journal-title":"Int Immunopharmacol"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2074","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.jmedchem.9b00584","article-title":"Pyroglutamide-based P2X7 receptor antagonists targeting inflammatory bowel disease","volume":"63","author":"Homerin","year":"2020","journal-title":"J Med Chem"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"11","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jbiotec.2020.02.016","article-title":"TLC-bioautography as a fast and cheap screening method for the detection of \u03b1-chymotrypsin inhibitors in crude plant extracts","volume":"313","author":"Legersk\u00e1","year":"2020","journal-title":"J Biotechnol"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2915","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.jmedchem.9b01439","article-title":"Discovery of a gut-restricted JAK inhibitor for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease","volume":"63","author":"Leonard","year":"2020","journal-title":"J Med Chem"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"884","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijbiomac.2020.07.191","article-title":"The role of MUC2 mucin in intestinal homeostasis and the impact of dietary components on MUC2 expression","volume":"164","author":"Liu","year":"2020","journal-title":"Int J Biol Macromol"},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"368","DOI":"10.1016\/j.actbio.2020.09.017","article-title":"Colitis-targeted hybrid nanoparticles-in-microparticles system for the treatment of ulcerative colitis","volume":"116","author":"Naeem","year":"2020","journal-title":"Acta Biomater"},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"9","DOI":"10.1016\/j.prostaglandins.2018.03.004","article-title":"Increased epoxyeicosatrienoic acids may be part of a protective mechanism in human ulcerative colitis, with increased CYP2J2 and reduced soluble epoxide hydrolase expression","volume":"136","author":"Qiu","year":"2018","journal-title":"Prostaglandins Other Lipid Mediat"},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"24749","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijhydene.2020.06.258","article-title":"The ZnO-NiO nano-composite: a brief characterization, kinetic and thermodynamic study and study the Arrhenius model on the sulfasalazine photodegradation","volume":"45","author":"Rezaei","year":"2020","journal-title":"Int J Hydrog Energy"},{"key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"411","DOI":"10.1016\/j.intimp.2019.02.038","article-title":"A unique polysaccharide from Hericium erinaceus mycelium ameliorates acetic acid-induced ulcerative colitis rats by modulating the composition of the gut microbiota, short chain fatty acids levels and GPR41\/43 respectors","volume":"71","author":"Shao","year":"2019","journal-title":"Int Immunopharmacol"},{"key":"ref11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"311","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijpharm.2018.12.021","article-title":"In vitro drug release from acetylated high amylose starch-zein films for oral colon-specific drug delivery","volume":"556","author":"Bisharat","year":"2019","journal-title":"Int J Pharm"},{"key":"ref12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"514","DOI":"10.1016\/j.colsurfb.2018.07.068","article-title":"Role of zein incorporation on hydrophobic drug-loading capacity and colloidal stability of phospholipid nanoparticles","volume":"171","author":"Hong","year":"2018","journal-title":"Colloids Surf B"},{"key":"ref13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"284","DOI":"10.1016\/j.lwt.2019.05.048","article-title":"Evaluation of effective storage conditions and in-vitro bioaccessibility of vitamin A from native and modified sodium caseinate-vitamin A complexes","volume":"111","author":"Gupta","year":"2019","journal-title":"LWT"},{"key":"ref14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"126","DOI":"10.1016\/j.fbp.2018.05.004","article-title":"Novel cress seed mucilage and sodium caseinate microparticles for encapsulation of curcumin: an approach for controlled release","volume":"110","author":"Kavousi","year":"2018","journal-title":"Food Bioprod Process"},{"key":"ref15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"779","DOI":"10.1016\/j.foodres.2019.05.043","article-title":"Impact of sodium caseinate, soy lecithin and carrageenan on functionality of oil-in-water emulsions","volume":"123","author":"Koo","year":"2019","journal-title":"Food Res Int"},{"key":"ref16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"321","DOI":"10.1016\/j.foodhyd.2018.12.025","article-title":"Solid lipid nanoparticles stabilized by sodium caseinate and lactoferrin","volume":"90","author":"Oliveira","year":"2019","journal-title":"Food Hydrocoll"},{"key":"ref17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"11","DOI":"10.1016\/j.molimm.2018.09.004","article-title":"Curcumin alleviates DSS-induced colitis via inhibiting NLRP3 inflammsome activation and IL-1\u03b2 production","volume":"104","author":"Gong","year":"2018","journal-title":"Mol Immunol"},{"key":"ref18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"20","DOI":"10.1016\/j.msec.2017.07.037","article-title":"Preparation, characterization and anti-colitis activity of curcumin-asafoetida complex encapsulated in turmeric nanofiber","volume":"81","author":"Gopi","year":"2017","journal-title":"Mater Sci Eng C"},{"key":"ref19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"48","DOI":"10.1016\/j.foodchem.2015.01.132","article-title":"Absorption mechanism of whey-protein-delivered curcumin using Caco-2 cell monolayers","volume":"180","author":"Li","year":"2015","journal-title":"Food Chem"},{"key":"ref20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"394","DOI":"10.1016\/j.foodhyd.2018.08.031","article-title":"Nanoencapsulation of quercetin and curcumin in casein-based delivery systems","volume":"87","author":"Ghayour","year":"2019","journal-title":"Food Hydrocoll"},{"key":"ref21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"234","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ejps.2019.01.035","article-title":"Preparation, characterization and in vivo evaluation of novel hyaluronan containing niosomes tailored by Box\u2013Behnken design to co-encapsulate curcumin and quercetin","volume":"130","author":"Sadeghi Ghadi","year":"2019","journal-title":"Eur J Pharm Sci"},{"key":"ref22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"117","DOI":"10.1016\/j.phymed.2018.09.224","article-title":"Curcumin and quercetin synergistically inhibit cancer cell proliferation in multiple cancer cells and modulate Wnt\/\u03b2-catenin signaling and apoptotic pathways in A375 cells","volume":"52","author":"Srivastava","year":"2019","journal-title":"Phytomedicine"},{"key":"ref23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"58","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jpba.2019.04.033","article-title":"Simultaneous determination of curcumin, tetrahydrocurcumin, quercetin, and paeoniflorin by UHPLC-MS\/MS in rat plasma and its application to a pharmacokinetic study","volume":"172","author":"Yu","year":"2019","journal-title":"J Pharm Biomed Anal"},{"key":"ref24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"30","DOI":"10.1016\/j.procbio.2020.03.017","article-title":"Fabrication of curcumin-loaded zein nanoparticles stabilized by sodium caseinate\/sodium alginate: curcumin solubility, thermal properties, rheology, and stability","volume":"94","author":"Liu","year":"2020","journal-title":"Process Biochem"},{"key":"ref25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"239","DOI":"10.2174\/1386207323666200302121711","article-title":"An investigation of the mechanism of rapid relief of ulcerative colitis induced by five-flavor Sophora flavescens enteric-coated capsules based on network pharmacology","volume":"23","author":"Gu","year":"2020","journal-title":"Comb Chem High Throughput Screen"},{"key":"ref26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"125","DOI":"10.1016\/j.lfs.2017.08.010","article-title":"Baicalin may alleviate inflammatory infiltration in dextran sodium sulfate-induced chronic ulcerative colitis via inhibiting IL-33 expression","volume":"186","author":"Zhang","year":"2017","journal-title":"Life Sci"},{"key":"ref27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1098","DOI":"10.1053\/j.gastro.2018.11.033","article-title":"ATF4 deficiency promotes intestinal inflammation in mice by reducing uptake of glutamine and expression of antimicrobial peptides","volume":"156","author":"Hu","year":"2019","journal-title":"Gastroenterology"},{"key":"ref28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"9","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ejphar.2019.03.059","article-title":"Schisandrin B prevents ulcerative colitis and colitis-associated-cancer by activating focal adhesion kinase and influence on gut microbiota in an in vivo and in vitro model","volume":"854","author":"Li","year":"2019","journal-title":"Eur J Pharmacol"},{"key":"ref29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1218","DOI":"10.1038\/mi.2015.140","article-title":"The goblet cell-derived mediator RELM-\u03b2 drives spontaneous colitis in Muc2-deficient mice by promoting commensal microbial dysbiosis","volume":"9","author":"Morampudi","year":"2016","journal-title":"Mucosal Immunol"},{"key":"ref30","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"129","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jnutbio.2018.08.005","article-title":"Intestinal anti-inflammatory effect of the probiotic Saccharomyces boulardii in DSS-induced colitis in mice: impact on microRNAs expression and gut microbiota composition","volume":"61","author":"Rodr\u00edguez-Nogales","year":"2018","journal-title":"J Nutr Biochem"},{"key":"ref31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.phymed.2017.02.009","article-title":"Aqueous extract from Orthosiphon stamineus leaves prevents bladder and kidney infection in mice","volume":"28","author":"Sarshar","year":"2017","journal-title":"Phytomedicine"},{"key":"ref32","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1429","DOI":"10.1016\/j.biopha.2018.12.063","article-title":"CTGF-mediated ERK signaling pathway influences the inflammatory factors and intestinal flora in ulcerative colitis","volume":"111","author":"Song","year":"2019","journal-title":"Biomed Pharmacother"},{"key":"ref33","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1217","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijbiomac.2019.11.159","article-title":"An orally administered butyrate-releasing xylan derivative reduces inflammation in dextran sulphate sodium-induced murine colitis","volume":"156","author":"Zha","year":"2020","journal-title":"Int J Biol Macromol"},{"key":"ref34","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"157","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jddst.2019.04.030","article-title":"Mucus-penetrating polymeric nanoparticles for oral delivery of curcumin to inflamed colon tissue","volume":"52","author":"Zhou","year":"2019","journal-title":"J Drug Deliv Sci Technol"},{"key":"ref35","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"172456","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ejphar.2019.172456","article-title":"Flavonoids from Citrus aurantium ameliorate TNBS-induced ulcerative colitis through protecting colonic mucus layer integrity","volume":"857","author":"He","year":"2019","journal-title":"Eur J Pharmacol"},{"key":"ref36","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"105768","DOI":"10.1016\/j.intimp.2019.105768","article-title":"Limonin ameliorates ulcerative colitis by regulating STAT3\/miR-214 signaling pathway","volume":"75","author":"Liu","year":"2019","journal-title":"Int Immunopharmacol"},{"key":"ref37","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2396","DOI":"10.1016\/j.biopha.2018.11.087","article-title":"Effect of compound sophorae decoction on dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis in mice by regulating Th17\/Treg cell balance","volume":"109","author":"Xu","year":"2019","journal-title":"Biomed Pharmacother"},{"key":"ref38","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"235","DOI":"10.1016\/j.prp.2018.10.011","article-title":"Actin related protein 3 (ARP3) promotes apoptosis of intestinal epithelial cells in ulcerative colitis","volume":"215","author":"Zhang","year":"2019","journal-title":"Pathol Res Pract"},{"key":"ref39","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"158","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ejpb.2020.06.001","article-title":"Physicochemical and biopharmaceutical characterization of novel matrix-liposomes","volume":"153","author":"Binnefeld","year":"2020","journal-title":"Eur J Pharm Biopharm"},{"key":"ref40","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"373","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijbiomac.2020.05.055","article-title":"Improved viability of Akkermansia muciniphila by encapsulation in spray dried succinate-grafted alginate doped with epigallocatechin-3-gallate","volume":"159","author":"Chang","year":"2020","journal-title":"Int J Biol Macromol"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Nutrition"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fnut.2025.1696699\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,1]],"date-time":"2025-10-01T15:34:32Z","timestamp":1759332872000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fnut.2025.1696699\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,1]]},"references-count":40,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fnut.2025.1696699"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fnut.2025.1696699","relation":{},"ISSN":["2296-861X"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2296-861X","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,1]]},"article-number":"1696699"}}