Table 6.

Application of couplet medicinals in animal models of UC.

Medicinals	Compounds	Animals	Experimental methods	Results (symptoms, cytokines and pathways)	Results(Intestinal Microbiota)	References
huáng qín (the dried root of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi) and huáng lián (the dried rhizome of Coptis chinensis Franch.)	Baicalin and berberine hybrid compound	BALB/c mice	DSS	It ameliorated the disease symptoms and prevented the colon damage of mice. Expression of MPO, IL-1β, TNF-α and IL-6 were decreased. Level of SOD was increased.	-	(215)
dăng shēn (the dried root of Codonopsis pilosula (Franch.) Nannf.) and huáng qí (the dired root of Astragalus mongholicus Bunge)	Total polysaccharides of huáng qí and total polysaccharides of dăng shēn	C57BL/6 mice	DSS	It alleviated weight loss and DAI score of mice. The level of MLN coefficient, MDA, IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6 were decreased. In contract, SOD, IL-10, IL-22 were increased.	The level of Firmicutes and Proteobacteria was down-regulated. Bacteroidetes was up-regulated. Also, production of butyrate and overall microbiota structure were improved.	(216)
fù zi (the processed lateral root of Aconitum carmichaelii Debeaux) and gān jiāng (the dried rhizome of Zingiber officinale Roscoe)	-	C57BL/6 mice	DSS	Fù zi and gān jiāng significantly ameliorated the clinical symptoms of body weight loss, colonic shortening, increased DAI and splenomegaly, as well as histological scores of UC mice. IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10 and IL-17A were suppressed. The levels of MPO, iNOS and COX-2 mRNA were suppressed too. The activation of MAPK, NF-κB and STAT3 signaling pathways were inhibited.	-	(217)

MPO, myeloperoxidase; IL, interleukin; TNF-α, tumor necrosis factor-α; SOD, superoxide dismutase; MLN, mesenteric lymph node; DAI, disease activity index; IFN-γ, interferon-gamma; iNOS, inducible nitric oxide synthase; COX-2, cyclooxygenase-2; MAPK, mitogen-activated protein kinase; NF-κB, nuclear factor κB.