Premna puberula P. Ethyl Acetate Extract Treats Ulcerative Colitis by Regulating the Intestinal Flora and Improving Serum Metabolism

The prevalence of Ulcerative Colitis (UC) is continuously increasing globally, demanding the urgent search for new treatment agents due to the limitations of existing therapies. <i>Premna puberula</i> Pamp. (PP), a traditional medicinal and dietary plant, has anti-inflammatory properties. Its extracts' therapeutic benefits for UC have not been documented, though. Therefore, we aim to investigate the therapeutic effects of PPEAC on UC, providing a reference for new UC therapies. In our study, we used UPLC-MS/MS to determine the composition of <i>Premna puberula</i> Pamp's ethyl acetate extract (PPEAC). We assessed the effectiveness of PPEAC using a UC mouse model. The results demonstrated that PPEAC significantly reduced the Disease Activity Index (DAI) scores, lowered liver and spleen weight ratios, mitigated colonic shortening and histopathological damage, and alleviated oxidative stress. This research represented the first systematic investigation into the molecular mechanism of PPEAC ameliorating UC by modulating the intestinal flora-metabolism axis. PPEAC appeared to have a therapeutic impact on UC by boosting phosphatidylcholine (PC) analog levels and the number of Firmicutes and Muribaculaceae, as well as altering alpha-linolenic acid metabolism. Our research provided a new therapeutic approach for using PP as a traditional functional plant for food and medicine, as well as a new viewpoint for the creation of UC-targeted treatments based on conventional herbs.