Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic
inflammatory bowel disease that may become intractable when treated with conventional medications such as aminosalicylates,
corticosteroids, and
azathioprine. The herbal medicine
Qing Dai has traditionally been used in Chinese medicine to treat UC patients, but there is a lack of published data on the efficacy of
Qing Dai in UC treatment. We report several cases of patients with intractable UC who take
Qing Dai in a retrospective observational study. Furthermore, we explore the mechanisms of action of
Qing Dai. Nine patients with active UC who received conventional medications but wished to receive
Qing Dai as an alternative medication were included in our analysis. The UC severity level was determined based on the clinical activity index (CAI). Additionally, 5 of the 9 patients were endoscopically evaluated according to the Matts grading system. Each patient received 2 g/d of
Qing Dai orally and continued taking other medications for UC as prescribed. Electron spin resonance was applied to explore the mechanisms of action of
Qing Dai. After 4 mo of treatment with
Qing Dai, the CAI score decreased from 8.3 ± 2.4 to 2.4 ± 3.4 (mean ± SD; P < 0.001). Similarly, the endoscopic Matts grade decreased from 3.4 ± 0.5 to 2.2 ± 0.8 (P = 0.02). Six of 7 patients who were on
prednisolone upon enrollment in the study were able to discontinue this
corticosteroid. Electron spin resonance revealed that
Qing Dai possesses strong
hydroxyl radical scavenging activity.
Qing Dai showed significant clinical and endoscopic efficacy in patients who failed to respond to conventional medications. Scavenging of
hydroxyl radicals appears to be a potential mechanism through which
Qing Dai acts, but the significance of the scavenging ability of
Qing Dai with respect to the anti-inflammatory effect in UC patients warrants further investigation.