BP-1, a purified 14.124 kDa neutral polysaccharide from Paeoniae Radix Alba, alleviated arthritis severity, joint pathology, systemic inflammation and colonic injury while improving intestinal barrier integrity in CIA rats and LPS-injured Caco-2 cells, potentially through TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB suppression, immune homeostasis restoration, and modulation of gut microbiota and fecal metabolites.
BP-1 was purified from Paeoniae Radix Alba as a 14.124 kDa neutral polysaccharide composed mainly of glucose and mannose.
NMR analysis identified five glycosidic residue types in BP-1.
BP-1 alleviated arthritis severity, joint pathology and systemic inflammation in collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) rats.
BP-1 reduced colonic injury and improved intestinal barrier integrity in vivo and in vitro.
BP-1's effects were potentially associated with suppression of TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling and restoration of immune homeostasis.
BP-1 modulated gut microbiota and fecal metabolites in CIA rats, restoring gut microbiota-metabolic homeostasis.
The authors conclude that BP-1 is a potential functional food ingredient for inflammation-associated intestinal and immune disorders.
This study looked at a sugar-based compound (a polysaccharide called BP-1) extracted from white peony root (Paeoniae Radix Alba), a plant used in traditional medicine and food. The researchers purified it, worked out its chemical structure, and found it is a fairly small, neutral polysaccharide made mostly of glucose and mannose sugars. They then tested it in rats with experimentally induced arthritis resembling rheumatoid arthritis, and in human intestinal cells damaged with a bacterial toxin (LPS). BP-1 reduced arthritis severity, joint damage and body-wide inflammation in the rats. It also reduced gut damage and improved the gut's barrier function, in both the animals and the cell experiments. The benefits appeared to be linked to calmer inflammatory signaling (the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB pathway), a more balanced immune system, and shifts in gut bacteria and the chemicals they produce. This research suggests that gut health may be one route by which plant polysaccharides influence arthritis, and that BP-1 might one day be developed as a functional food ingredient. The work was done in rats and cell cultures, and the mechanisms were described as potential associations, so it does not show whether the same effects would occur in people.
Wang Y, Wu Y, Xie Y, Zhao Q, Liu J, Jiang M, et al.. (2026). A Paeoniae Radix Alba Polysaccharide Fraction BP-1 Restores Intestinal Barrier Function and Gut Microbiota-Metabolic Homeostasis in Collagen-Induced Arthritis Rats.. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.6c06645