Weedy garden plant's compounds may soothe inflamed intestines
Dai P, Zheng B, Pan X, Fan B, Zou Y
Medicinal Plants
The scrappy little spurge sprouting in sidewalk cracks and untended garden beds has been used for centuries to treat dysentery, and this study shows why: it contains quercetin and kaempferol, compounds also found in onions, apples, and many garden greens, that block a specific cell-damaging process tied to colitis.
Scientists studied a low-growing weed called Euphorbia humifusa, long used in Chinese herbal medicine for digestive troubles, and found it can reduce gut inflammation in mice with colitis. The plant works by blocking a chain reaction where fats in cell membranes get damaged, a process driven by two proteins working together. Three plant compounds, quercetin, kaempferol, and naringenin, all common in fruits and vegetables, were identified as the active ingredients responsible for this protective effect.
Key Findings
EH extract reduced colitis severity in DSS-induced mice in a dose-dependent manner
The extract works by inhibiting the ACSL4/COX-2 axis, which drives lipid peroxidation, a form of cell membrane damage
Three flavonoids, quercetin, kaempferol, and naringenin, were confirmed as key active compounds in lab-grown human colon cells and intestinal organoids
chevron_right Technical Summary
A common weedy plant used in traditional Chinese medicine can calm inflammatory bowel disease in mice by blocking a specific chain reaction that damages gut cells from the inside.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Euphorbia humifusa Willd. alleviates ulcerative colitis by inhibiting lipid peroxidation via ACSL4/COX-2 axis.
Herba Euphorbiae Humifusae (Euphorbia humifusa Willd., EH), named Dijincao, a traditional Chinese herbal medicine used to treat dysentery and enteritis, shows therapeutic potential for ulcerative c...
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