The Extracts of Morinda officinalis and Its Hairy Roots Attenuate Dextran Sodium Sulfate-Induced Chronic Ulcerative Colitis in Mice by Regulating Inflammation and Lymphocyte Apoptosis
Authors: Qian Li
Hairong Hao
Lian Zhou
Shaozhen Hou
Chaodi Fu
Jiwang Liang
Xiaoping Lai
Huazhen Liu
Yanfang Wu
Peng Wang
Qingping Xiong
Huan Lin
Shamyuen Chan
Ping Ding
Jian Liang
Xiaoli Jiang
Journal: Frontiers in Immunology (2017)
Discipline: IMMUNOLOGY
Keywords: Morinda officinalis; anti-inflammatory; apoptosis; hairy roots culture; immunoregulatory
Affiliations: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Chinese Medicinals Development and Research, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China., Shenzhen Fan Mao Pharmaceutical Co., Limited, Shenzhen, China., Affiliated Huai'an Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Huai'an, China., Section of Immunology, Guangdong Provincial Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China.

Abstract:  Morinda officinalis is beneficial for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The hairy root with higher genetic and biochemical stability cultured from M. officinalis might have similar effects to treat IBD. In this study, the main chemical composition of the root extracts of M. officinalis (MORE) native plant and the hairy root extract of M. officinalis (MOHRE) was compared by quantitative HPLC. The difference of their therapeutic effects and potential mechanism was evaluated using 3% dextran sodium sulfate-induced chronic colitis in mice and T lymphocytes in vitro. The results found that MOHRE possesses many specific peaks unobserved in the chromatogram of native plant. The content of iridoids in the MORE (3.10%) and MOHRE (3.01%) is somewhat similar but quite different for their anthraquinones's content (0.14 and 0.66%, respectively). Despite all this, treatment with both MORE and MOHRE significantly attenuated the symptoms of colitis, including diarrhea, body weight loss, colon shortening, histological damage, and decreased inflammatory cytokine levels. In addition, they dose-dependently increased the apoptosis of T lymphocyte in vivo and in vitro. And, the differences for treatment effects on ulcerative colitis (UC) between them both in this study were mostly insignificant. The results demonstrated that the effects of MORE and MOHRE for the treatment of UC are similar, although there are a few difference on their chemical composition, indicating the hairy root cultured from M. officinalis might be able to replace its native plant on treatment of UC. The successful derivation of a sustainable hairy root culture provides a model system to study the synthetic pathways for bioactive metabolites, which will make the use of bioreactors to largely produce traditional medicine become reality. 

Retracted: No

PubPeer comments:
 In June 2020 I reported this paper to the Frontiers Research Integrity team. Figure 10 contained a fluorescence microscopy image were  Control and  200u00b5g ml MORE contained identical fluorescence spot pattern (as indicated in the image below). The regions with the similar spot pattern, however, were not 100% identical, therefore I would exclude an accidental duplication. ![file] Frontiers accepted a correction: doi: 10.3389 fimmu.2020.02092. In the correction, the image  200u00b5g ml MORE was exxchanged. Additionally, and without indicating, the authors changed  50u00b5g ml MORE and  50u00b5g mlMOHRE in the same Figure. I am curious if Frontiers allows a correction of the correction ;-) ![file] ,