{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,10]],"date-time":"2026-06-10T17:21:45Z","timestamp":1781112105953,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"18","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,15]],"date-time":"2022-09-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1663200000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"PUMC Youth Fund","award":["No. 3332021051"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["No. 3332021051"]}]},{"name":"PUMC Youth Fund","award":["No. 2021-I2M-1-031"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["No. 2021-I2M-1-031"]}]},{"name":"PUMC Youth Fund","award":["No. 2021-I2M-1-022"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["No. 2021-I2M-1-022"]}]},{"name":"PUMC Youth Fund","award":["No. 2022-I2M-2-002"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["No. 2022-I2M-2-002"]}]},{"name":"CAMS Innovation Fund for Medical Science (CIFMS)","award":["No. 3332021051"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["No. 3332021051"]}]},{"name":"CAMS Innovation Fund for Medical Science (CIFMS)","award":["No. 2021-I2M-1-031"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["No. 2021-I2M-1-031"]}]},{"name":"CAMS Innovation Fund for Medical Science (CIFMS)","award":["No. 2021-I2M-1-022"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["No. 2021-I2M-1-022"]}]},{"name":"CAMS Innovation Fund for Medical Science (CIFMS)","award":["No. 2022-I2M-2-002"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["No. 2022-I2M-2-002"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Molecules"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Various potential effect of drugs on alleviating diseases by regulating intestinal microbiome as well as the pharmaceutical excipients on gut microbiota has been revealed. However, the interaction between them is rarely investigated. Methods: Histological analysis, immunohistochemistry analysis, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) analysis, RT-qPCR, and 16S rRNA analysis were utilized to explore the effect mechanism of the five excipients including hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) F4M, Eudragit (EU) S100, chitosan (CT), pectin (PT), and rheum officinale polysaccharide (DHP) on berberine (BBR) to cure UC. Results: The combined BBR with PT and DHP group exhibited better therapeutic efficacy of UC with significantly increased colon length, and decreased hematoxylin-eosin (H&amp;E) scores than other groups. Furthermore, the expression of tight junction ZO-1 and occludin in colon tissue were upregulated, and claudin-2 was downregulated. Ultimately, the serum content of tumor necrosis (TNF)-\u03b1, interleukin (IL)-1\u03b2, and IL-6 was decreased. Moreover, the combined BBR with PT significantly promoted the restoration of gut microbiota. The relative abundance of Firmicutes and Lactobacillus was significantly increased by the supplement of PT and DHP, and the relative abundance of Proteobacteria was downregulated. Conclusions: Our study may provide a new perspective that the selection of pharmaceutical excipients could be a crucial factor affecting the drugs\u2019 therapeutic efficiency outcome.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules27185997","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,15]],"date-time":"2022-09-15T01:48:10Z","timestamp":1663206490000},"page":"5997","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":13,"title":["Effect and Mechanism of Pharmaceutical Excipients on Berberine to Alleviate Ulcerative Colitis via Regulating Gut Microbiota"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"27","author":[{"given":"Chenyang","family":"Wu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Drug Delivery Research Center, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100193, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tingting","family":"Zheng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Drug Delivery Research Center, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100193, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Huan","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Drug Delivery Research Center, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100193, China"},{"name":"Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang 050017, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Peizhi","family":"Zou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Drug Delivery Research Center, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100193, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mengxue","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Drug Delivery Research Center, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100193, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jinrui","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Drug Delivery Research Center, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100193, China"},{"name":"Faculty of Pharmacy, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin 150040, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nan","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Drug Delivery Research Center, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100193, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yun","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Drug Delivery Research Center, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100193, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substances and Resources Utilization of Chinese Herbal Medicine, Ministry of Education, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100193, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of New Drug Discovery Based on Classic Chinese Medicine Prescription, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing 100193, China"},{"name":"Beijing Key Laboratory of Innovative Drug Discovery of Traditional Chinese Medicine (Natural Medicine) and Translational Medicine, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100193, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ying","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Drug Delivery Research Center, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100193, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substances and Resources Utilization of Chinese Herbal Medicine, Ministry of Education, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100193, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of New Drug Discovery Based on Classic Chinese Medicine Prescription, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing 100193, China"},{"name":"Beijing Key Laboratory of Innovative Drug Discovery of Traditional Chinese Medicine (Natural Medicine) and Translational Medicine, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100193, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhengqi","family":"Dong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Drug Delivery Research Center, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100193, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substances and Resources Utilization of Chinese Herbal Medicine, Ministry of Education, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100193, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of New Drug Discovery Based on Classic Chinese Medicine Prescription, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing 100193, China"},{"name":"Beijing Key Laboratory of Innovative Drug Discovery of Traditional Chinese Medicine (Natural Medicine) and Translational Medicine, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100193, 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