Herbal Andrographis inhibits the Risk, Progression of Colitis

By Kyle J. Norton 

Herbal Andrographis may have potential and profound effects in reducing risk and treatment of colitis with no side effects, scientists suggested

Colitis is a condition of inflammation of the large intestine, including the colon, caecum, and rectum.

There are numbers of causes of the disease, including infection, inflammatory bowel disease, and allergic reactions.

Other types of colitis include
* Microscopic colitis a condition referred to collagenous colitis and lymphocytic colitis, two related medical conditions which cause diarrhea.

* Ischemic colitis, another colon infection which may also go away with mild treatment, such as a short-term liquid diet and antibiotics.

If you are experiencing some of the symptoms such as persistent abdominal pain, diarrhea and cramping, dehydration, selling of joint, eye inflammation and fever or chill, you may have colitis. Please check with your doctor to rule out the possibility of the disease.

Dr. Winther KV in the study to examine the survival and cause-specific mortality in ulcerative colitis, including 1160 patients diagnosed with ulcerative colitis between 1962 and 1987 was followed-up until 1997 to describe survival and cause-specific mortality.

At that span, a total of 261 deaths occurred, not significantly different from the expected number of 249 (SMR, 1.05; 95% CI, 0.92-1.19). The median age at death among men was 70 years (range, 6-96 years) and among women 74 years (range, 25-96 years).

The mortality was increased in patients with pulmonary embolism and pneumonia.

The doctor team wrote, in the final report, "Despite an overall normal life expectancy for patients with ulcerative colitis, patients >50 years of age and with extensive colitis at diagnosis had increased mortality within the first 2 years after diagnosis, owing to colitis-associated postoperative complications and comorbidity".

The results clearly suggested that patients with colitis are at increased risk to die due to the complication of other diseases, particularly, in the first 2 years of diagnosis.

Andrographis paniculata is also known as Andrographis is a herbaceous plant, genus Andrographis, belonging to the family Acanthaceae, native to India and Sri Lanka.

The plant has been used in traditional Siddha and Ayurvedic in treating the common cold, flu, upper respiratory infections, infectious diseases, diarrhea, dysentery, cholera, pneumonia, swollen lymph nodes, leprosy, bronchitis, sore throats, tuberculosis, chicken pox, etc.

Besides the main ingredient andrographolides, giving the plant a bitter taste, other ingredients includediterpene lactones, such as neoandrographolide, andrographiside, 14-doexy-11, 12-didehydro andrographolide, etc., flavonoinds viz., oroxylin, wogonin, andrographidines A, B, C, D, E, F.


In order to reaffirm the use of extracts of the plant Andrographis paniculata anti-inflammatory diseases in Asian countries, researchers examined the effects of HMPL-004 (A. paniculata extract) against colitis in mice model induced by injection of methylcellulose (MC).

Before application of HMPL-004, mice treated with MC developed colitis within 4-7 weeks, accompanied by weight gain and severe intestinal inflammation.

HMPL-004-treated mice inhibited lose weight and displayed only very mild intestinal inflammation.

The inflammatory cytokines caused by injection of MC alao significantly decreased after treatment of HMPL-004.

Higher percentages of naïve CD4(+) T cells in the lamina propria of HMPL-004-treated mice compared to MC mice.

Furthermore at the early timepoints HMPL-004-treated mice have significantly reduced splenic cell counts, reduced inflammatory markers, and reduced pro-inflammatory expression.

Moreover, HMPL-004 inhibited the proliferation of CD4 T cells that cause immune response differentiation into TH1/TH17 cells that have the capacity to cause inflammation and autoimmune disease in vitro.

The results firmly suggested that HMPL-004 has a potential effect on inflammatory diseases, particularly in inflammatory bowel disease and colitis.

The research team at the final report wrote, "HMPL-004 inhibits the development of chronic colitis by affecting early T-cell proliferation, differentiation, and TH(1)/TH(17) responses in a T-cell-driven model of colitis, presenting a unique mechanism of action".

Also, the Hutchison Medipharma Ltd.in a recent randomized, double-blind, multicentre, 8-week parallel group study of HMPL-004, to learn more about the anti-inflammatory activity examined the Andrographis paniculata extract against mild to moderate ulcerative colitis (UC).

Compared to 16% and 82% efficacy of 4500 mg/day of slow release mesalazine (mesalamine) granules in patients with mild-to-moderately active ulcerative colitis, application of HMPL-004 exerted a more tenant effect on 21% and 76%, respectively.

By colonoscopy, remission and response were seen in 28% and 74% of HMPL-004-treated patients and 24% and 71% of mesalazine-treated patients, respectively.

   

The finding strongly supported HMPL-004 is an efficacious alternative to mesalazine in ulcerative colitis.

Taken altogether, herbal Andrographis may be considered a functional remedy for the prevention and treatment of colitis, pending to the confirmation of large sample size and multicenter human study.

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Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.

References
(1) HMPL-004 (Andrographis paniculata extract) prevents development of murine colitis by inhibiting T-cell proliferation and TH1/TH17 responses by Michelsen KS, Wong MH, Ko B, Thomas LS, Dhall D, Targan SR.(PubMed)
(2) Randomised clinical trial: herbal extract HMPL-004 in active ulcerative colitis - a double-blind comparison with sustained release mesalazine by Tang T1, Targan SR, Li ZS, Xu C, Byers VS, Sandborn WJ. (PubMed)
(3) Survival and cause-specific mortality in ulcerative colitis: follow-up of a population-based cohort in Copenhagen County by Winther KV1, Jess T, Langholz E, Munkholm P, Binder V.(PubMed)