Abstract
Background: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a rising cause of chronic gastrointestinal morbidity in Asia, and mesalazine-refractory disease drives demand for affordable adjunctive phytotherapies. Zingiber officinale Roscoe (Zingiberaceae; Indonesian jahe) rhizome polysaccharides (ZOP) remain under-studied despite escaping upper-gut digestion and reaching the colon for saccharolytic fermentation.
Objective: To characterize standardized ZOP from Indonesian ginger rhizome and to evaluate their dose-dependent efficacy against dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in mice, benchmarked against mesalazine.
Methods: ZOP were prepared by hot-water extraction, Sevag deproteinization and ethanol precipitation (molecular weight 1.8×104–6.4×105 Da; galacturonic-acid–rhamnose–arabinose–xylose–glucose backbone). Sixty male BALB/c mice were randomized into six groups (n = 10): normal control; DSS 3% w/v; DSS plus mesalazine 100 mg/kg; and DSS plus ZOP 100, 200 or 400 mg/kg/day by oral gavage for 14 days.
Results: High-dose ZOP reduced the Disease Activity Index from 3.62 ± 0.19 to 1.08 ± 0.12 (p < 0.001), preserved colon length (7.2 ± 0.20 versus 5.1 ± 0.26 cm), lowered histology score (3.8 ± 0.24 versus 9.8 ± 0.41) and colonic myeloperoxidase (2.14 ± 0.17 versus 6.18 ± 0.29 U/g), and restored Shannon α-diversity (3.56 ± 0.13 versus 2.14 ± 0.18). It expanded Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Faecalibacterium and Akkermansia, contracted Proteobacteria, raised caecal butyrate 5.8-fold and up-regulated claudin-1, occludin, zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) and mucin-2 (all p < 0.001). The high dose equalled or exceeded mesalazine on multiple endpoints.
Conclusion: Standardized ginger rhizome polysaccharides reshape the gut microbiota, augment short-chain fatty-acid generation, restore mucosal barrier integrity and suppress colonic inflammation, supporting development as a complementary phytotherapy for Indonesian UC.