PAKISTAN VETERINARY JOURNAL

Pak Vet J, 2026, 46(10) 2336-2351

DSPE, a Homogeneous Polysaccharide Purified from Durian Shell, Ameliorates Ulcerative Colitis by Restoring Intestinal Epithelial Barrier Function Via the ALG10/AhR/CYP1A1 Signaling Pathways

Xiaotian Xu^1#, Leyi Cui^1#, Xingshu Wei^1#, Mengmeng Yang¹, Renhui Wu¹, Simin Zhang¹, Ying Zhang², Mohammed Al-Rasheed⁴, Essam H. Ibrahim^5,6, Shiqi Dong^3* and Yuhui Wang^1*

¹School of Pharmacy, Guilin Medical University, Guilin 541199, China; ²College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; ³College of Animal Science and Technology, Tarim University, Aral 843300, China; ⁴Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa, P.O. Box 400, 31982, Saudi Arabia; ⁵Biology Department, Faculty of Science, King Khalid University, P.O. Box 9004, Abha 61413, Saudi Arabia; ⁶Blood Products Quality Control and Research Department, National Organization for Research and Control of Biologicals, Cairo, Egypt
^#These authors contributed equally to this work and are considered as co-first authors

*Corresponding author: tcvm@taru.edu.cn (SD); wangyuhuitg2017@163.com (YW)

Abstract

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease with complex etiology involving multiple pathological processes including inflammation and oxidative stress. Traditional Chinese medicine polysaccharides show promising prospects in alleviating UC-associated intestinal inflammation but are mostly derived from high-value economic crops or medicinal plants at high cost and their high molecular weights and poor solubility cause low bioavailability, limiting their development and application. Therefore, identifying inexpensive alternative polysaccharide sources with low molecular weight and good water solubility is key to overcoming these bottlenecks. Durian shells, agricultural waste rich in pectic polysaccharides, are widely available at extremely low cost, making them an ideal candidate. Based on this, we isolated and purified durian shell polysaccharide (DSPE), a single component with lower molecular weight and higher water solubility, from durian shells and evaluated its therapeutic potential and mechanism in ameliorating UC using dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)- and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced models. The results showed that 20mg/kg DSPE reduced pro-inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress, upregulated ZO-1 and Occludin expression, and restored intestinal epithelial barrier function both in vivo and in vitro. Mechanistically, DSPE downregulated ALG10 (asparagine-linked glycosylation 10) while upregulating AhR (aryl hydrocarbon receptor) and CYP1A1 (cytochrome P450 family 1 subfamily A member 1). Administration of an AhR antagonist or ALG10 overexpression aggravated UC symptoms and attenuated the protective effects of DSPE. In summary, these findings indicate that DSPE ameliorates ulcerative colitis by modulating the ALG10/AhR/CYP1A1 signaling pathway to inhibit inflammation and oxidative stress, thereby restoring intestinal epithelial barrier integrity.

To Cite This Article: Xu X, Cui L, Wei X, Yang M, Wu R, Zhang S, Zhang Y, Al-Rasheed M, Ibrahim EH, Dong S and Wang Y, 2026. DSPE, a homogeneous polysaccharide purified from durian shell, ameliorates ulcerative colitis by restoring intestinal epithelial barrier function via the ALG10/AhR/CYP1A1 signaling pathways. Pak Vet J, 2026, 46(10): 2336-2351. http://dx.doi.org/10.29261/pakvetj/2026.249

Abstract

ISSN 0253-8318 (Print)ISSN 2074-7764 (Online)

ISSN 0253-8318 (Print)
ISSN 2074-7764 (Online)