I found some reference information about “Indigo naturalis” on Kusahami’s blog.
I would like to quote from it as follows. I am always impressed by your detailed information.
Detoxification effect of “Indigo naturalis” may be due to the enhancement of glucuronide conjugation
I was searching for information on “Indigo naturalis” on the net and found some useful information. The fact that “Indigo naturalis” has a detoxifying effect is mentioned in old Chinese pharmacopoeia books such as “Honzo Ji” (Tang Dynasty), “Kaiho Honzo” (Song Dynasty), and “Honzo Tsuname” (Ming Dynasty), and in the “Shennong Honzo Jing” (Later Han Dynasty), it is mentioned that “Indigo naturalis” is made from the fruit of the ayes, which can be used as a raw material for “Indigo naturalis”. In the “Shennong Honcho Jing” (Later Han Dynasty), it is written that the fruit of ai, which can be used to make “Indigo naturalis,” has a detoxifying effect.” The detoxification effect of “Indigo naturalis” is a bit technical, but I found some information that makes me think that it may be due to the enhancement of glucuronic acid conjugation.
The human body has a mechanism for excreting various chemicals present in the body. If not, harmful chemicals could accumulate in the body and cause death. In fact, the human body is designed to excrete or break down almost any chemical substance, whether harmful, harmless, or beneficial, before it is excreted. One of the steps in the chemical excretion process is called “conjugation. There are glucuronidation, glutathione conjugation, sulfate conjugation, acetylation, and amino acid conjugation. This is the process of attaching a chemical substance such as glucuronic acid, which is highly compatible with water, to a chemical substance to be processed, thereby facilitating its excretion from the body in the form of urine or other substances.
Indigoid-containing glucuronosyltransferase inducer
According to this disclosure, glucuronosyltransferase, an enzyme involved in glucuronidation, is produced in large quantities when “Indigo naturalis” is administered, and the ability of glucuronidation is enhanced, thereby increasing detoxification. Indigo naturalis” is a key enzyme in the detoxification process. Indigo naturalis” contains indigos as a major ingredient, as well as small amounts of indirubin and isoindigo, but it was not yet known that indigosine compounds induce the expression of glucuronosyltransferases.
However, this is not an academic paper but a patent application document, so it may not necessarily be academically correct, but it is informative.
Whether this detoxification enhancing effect of “Indigo naturalis” is one of the factors related to its efficacy against ulcerative colitis remains to be seen, but we hope that further research will be conducted.