Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an autoimmune disease afflicting an increasing number of patients and increasing demands towards the development of efficacious and safe drugs. Recently, with increasing interest in alternative medicines, natural resources have become a hotspot for drug discovery against UC. In addition to being consumed as a food and spice, ginger is also widely used as a well-recognized gastrointestinal herbal medicine. With a long history in the treatment of digestive disorders, the potential of ginger in alleviating UC has been documented in several experimental models and clinical trials. However, as a major active constituent of ginger, ginger polysaccharides (GP) and its effect on UC has yet to be reported. In this study, GP was firstly separated and characterized. In a dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis mouse model, GP alleviated UC symptoms by inhibiting pro-inflammatory cytokines levels to regulate intestinal inflammation, repairing the intestinal barrier as indicated by occludin-1 and ZO-1, as well as regulating gut microbiota. Taking these results together, we believe GP could be an innovative option in developing functional foods or therapeutic agents for UC management.

溃疡性结肠炎（UC）是一种自身免疫性疾病，困扰着越来越多的患者，对开发有效和安全药物的需求也越来越大。近年来，随着人们对替代药物的兴趣日益浓厚，自然资源已成为治疗 UC 药物发现的热点。除了作为食品和香料食用外，生姜还被广泛用作公认的胃肠草药。生姜在治疗消化系统疾病方面有着悠久的历史，其缓解溃疡性结肠炎的潜力已在多个实验模型和临床试验中得到证实。然而，作为生姜的主要活性成分，生姜多糖（GP）及其对UC的作用尚未见报道。本研究首先对GP进行了分离和表征。在右旋糖酐硫酸钠 (DSS) 诱导的结肠炎小鼠模型中，GP 通过抑制促炎细胞因子水平来调节肠道炎症、修复肠道屏障（如 occludin-1 和 ZO-1 所示）以及调节肠道菌群，从而减轻 UC 症状微生物群。综合这些结果，我们相信 GP 可能成为开发用于 UC 管理的功能性食品或治疗剂的创新选择。