Effect of Dendrobium Officinale Extract on the PI3K/Akt Pathway in Mice with Ulcerative Colitis and Its Mechanism of Action

This study was designed to evaluate the effect of Dendrobium officinale (DO) extract on the PI3K/Akt signaling cascade in a murine model of ulcerative colitis (UC) and to explore the underlying mechanisms. For this sixty male BALB/c mice with comparable weights were randomly divided into six groups: a normal control, a DSS-induced UC model, a positive control treated with 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA), and three groups receiving DO extract at low (200 mg·kg–1), medium (400 mg·kg–1), and high (800 mg·kg–1) doses, with 10 mice per group. The effects of DO extract on body weight and colon length were observed, as well as its impact on disease activity index (DAI) score, serum cytokine (IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α) levels, histopathological changes in the colon, and the expression of phosphorylated PI3K and Akt proteins through western blot analysis. It was found that DSS-induced UC mice exhibited higher DAI scores, IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α levels, and histopathological injury scores. After treatment, DO extract at different doses reduced DAI scores and histopathological injury scores, lowered serum IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α levels, and decreased the expression of p-PI3K and p-Akt proteins, leading to improvement of colon injury. This study suggests that DO therapeutic effects on DSS-induced UC mice may exert its effects via the PI3K/Akt pathway.