Coptis chinensis has been used in
traditional Chinese medicine to treat inflammatory symptoms.
Berberine is the main
alkaloid compound of C. chinensis. This study utilized a typical
lipopolysaccharide (LPS) injured model to investigate the effects of C. chinensis aqueous extract (
CCAE) and
berberine (major active ingredient in
CCAE) in the gut-derived
sepsis. In rats, pretreatment with different doses of
berberine (30 or 120 mg/kg bw, i.g.; BBR30 or BBR120) or
CCAE (containing 9.9%
berberine; 300 mg/kg bw, i.g.; CCAE300) prior to the administration of LPS (20 mg/kg bw, i.p.) significantly suppressed the increased
tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and
nitrite oxide (NO) in plasma as well as the activation of
toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) in ileum. In addition, CCAE300 and BBR30 markedly elevated the activities of
superoxide dismutase (SOD) and
glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px); significantly prevented the increased
malondialdehyde (MDA), NO and villi injury in ileum compared with the negative control. Collectively, CCAE300 and BBR30 reduced the LPS-induced intestinal damage by elevating the activities of SOD and GSH-Px and by suppressing the activation of TLR4 and NF-κB in ileum. These results indicate that
CCAE and
berberine are promising agents for preventing
sepsis and its complications.