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Dr. Axe Wire · Food, herbs & supplements · gut
Chinese Herb Compound Calms Colitis By Targeting Gut Bacteria And Immune Cells In Mice
A compound from a traditional Chinese herb calmed colitis in mice by working through gut bacteria and immune cells together, researchers report.
A compound derived from the traditional Chinese herb Pulsatilla chinensis eased ulcerative colitis in mice by acting on the community of microbes living in the gut and a specific type of immune cell, according to a study published October 8, 2026 in The American Journal of Chinese Medicine.
Researchers studied anemoside B4 (AB4), a compound from the traditional Chinese herb Pulsatilla chinensis, in mice with ulcerative colitis induced by a chemical called dextran sulfate sodium, and in mice that developed colitis after receiving transferred immune cells. Sample size was not reported. When researchers depleted the gut microbiota in the DSS-induced colitis models, disease severity and immune responses dropped on their own, and the usual calming effect of orally given AB4 disappeared entirely. In a second model, mice lacking normal immune function developed colitis after receiving a specific subset of CD4+ immune cells, along with changes in their gut bacteria; AB4 significantly reduced these disease changes. Researchers used immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry, lab techniques that detect and count specific cell types, to study immune cell function.
The authors report that AB4 suppresses the proliferation, migration and differentiation of CD4+ T cells, a type of immune cell central to inflammatory bowel disease, and conclude this provides a mechanistic basis for the compound's calming effect on inflammation. Gut microbes and immune cells normally communicate constantly, with bacteria in the colon helping train and regulate immune responses, and disruptions in that community are a known feature of inflammatory bowel conditions in humans.
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AB4 is a promising therapeutic strategy for UC
This is a mouse study using lab-induced colitis models, not a clinical trial in people with ulcerative colitis, so human dosing, safety and effectiveness remain unknown. The paper is an abstract-level record, and exact animal numbers were not available here.
Dr. Axe’s Take
This is a mechanism study in mice, not a green light to self-treat ulcerative colitis with an herbal extract. It fits my view that gut bacteria and immune cells work together in inflammatory bowel disease, and healing the gut lining has to address both sides at once. If you're managing colitis, work with your gastroenterologist and keep taking any prescribed medication as directed. Alongside that care, I'd focus on fiber-rich vegetables, bone broth and fermented foods to support the gut microbes doing this immune signaling work, and discuss any herbal additions with your doctor first.
— Dr. AxeStory summary
- Who
- Mice with DSS-induced colitis and mice with immune-cell-transfer-induced colitis; sample size not reported
- Design
- Animal study using gut microbiota depletion, adoptive T-cell transfer into immune-deficient mice, and metagenomic sequencing
- Dose
- Orally administered anemoside B4; specific dose not reported
- Primary result
- Depleting gut bacteria blocked AB4's calming effect on colitis; AB4 significantly reduced disease severity in the immune-cell-transfer model
- Secondary
- AB4 suppressed proliferation, migration and differentiation of CD4+ T cells; gut bacteria changes accompanied immune-driven colitis
- Funding / conflicts
- Funder listed in the journal record: National Natural Science Foundation of China. Conflicts not reported in the abstract.
- Date
- Oct 8, 2026