PAKISTAN VETERINARY JOURNAL

Pak Vet J, 2026, 46(9) 2205-2219

Epimedium brevicornu Maxim Prevents LPS-Induced Intestinal Inflammation and Protects Intestinal Barrier Through Modulation of Gut Microbiota and Short Chain Fatty Acids

Sarang Mazhar Abro¹,Xubin Du¹, Yanke Shan¹, Muhammad Azhar Memon²,Teerath Kumar Suthar³, Muhammad Mubashir⁴, Hongbing Gui⁵,Shanfeng Wang⁵, Moolchand Malhi⁶,Jamila Soomro⁶ and Fei Liu^1*

¹Joint International Research Laboratory of Animal Health and Food Safety of Ministry of Education & Single Molecule Nanometry Laboratory, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, PR China; ²MOE Joint International Research, College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University 210095, China; ³University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China ; ⁴College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China; ⁵School of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Jiangsu Vocational College of Agriculture and Forestry, Jurong, Jiangsu 212400, China;⁶Department of Veterinary Physiology & Biochemistry, Sindh Agriculture University, 70060, Tandojam

*Corresponding author: feiliu24@njau.edu.cn

Abstract

EPimedium brevicornu Maxim (EBM) plant is traditionally used as a therapeutic agent against many diseases, yet its protective role against LPS-induced chronic inflammation and gut barrier impairment remains unexplored. This study aimed to investigate whether EBM can protect against Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced chronic inflammation and gut barrier impairment by modulating gut microbiota composition and short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) levels in a murine model. For this purpose, mice were randomly assigned into six groups receiving saline, LPS, and LPS combined with low or high doses of EBM for 28 days. After sacrificing the mice, histopathological findings confirmed LPS-triggered inflammatory injury accompanied by epithelial barrier dysfunction by marked inflammatory infiltration. Molecular analyses further supported these findings as LPS challenge elevated IL-6 and TNF-α at both mRNA and protein levels, and disrupted gut barrier integrity by decreasing zonula occludin (ZO-1), claudin-1, and occludin. These changes were accompanied by a reduction in beneficial gut bacteria mainly: Firmicutes, Ligilactobacillus, Lactobacillus and Ruminococcus, and an elevation in important harmful bacteria including Proteobacteria, Deferribacterota, Desulfovibrio and Bilophila, along with a sharp decline in fecal SCFAs. Whereas, co-administration of EBM protected against these changes in a dose dependent manner. It preserved gut barrier integrity at histological level, reduced inflammatory cytokines and preserved barrier proteins while counteracting these shifts by enriching beneficial taxa, suppressing inflammation-associated genera, and maintaining SCFA production, collectively demonstrating its protective role against LPS-induced chronic inflammation and barrier impairment.

To Cite This Article: Abro SM,Du X, Shan Y, Memon MA, Suthar TK,Mubashir M, Gui H,Wang S, Malhi M,Soomro J and Liu F, 2026. Epimedium brevicornu maxim prevents LPS-induced intestinal inflammation and protects intestinal barrier through modulation of gut microbiota and short chain fatty acids. Pak Vet J, 46(9): 2205-2219. http://dx.doi.org/10.29261/pakvetj/2026.209

Abstract

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

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