Emerging nutritional potential of edible-medicinal homologous coix lacryma-jobi seed-derived exosomes for treatment of ulcerative colitis.

Plant-derived exosomes have garnered significant research interest due to their considerable therapeutic potential for a range of inflammatory diseases. In this study, we isolated exosomes from Coix lacryma-jobi seeds (CLS-Exos) and systematically evaluated their therapeutic efficacy in a murine model of ulcerative colitis (UC). CLS-Exos were successfully isolated using density gradient centrifugation. The obtained particles had an average diameter of 157 nm and a zeta potential of -0.098 mV. These CLS-Exos demonstrated excellent biocompatibility and potently suppressed the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), nitric oxide (NO), and key pro-inflammatory cytokines. Notably, treatment with CLS-Exos significantly downregulated the pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6, while upregulating the anti-inflammatory mediator IL-10 and the cytoprotective enzyme heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1). Consequently, CLS-Exos administration ameliorated major symptoms of DSS-induced colitis, including body weight loss, increased disease activity index (DAI), colon shortening, and histopathological damage to the colonic mucosa. Collectively, these findings indicate that CLS-Exos alleviate experimental colitis by modulating the inflammatory response, shifting the balance from a pro-inflammatory to an anti-inflammatory and reparative state.