Impact of Baizhu, Daqingye, and Hehuanhua extracts on the human gut microbiome

Gut Microbiota and Bile Acid Metabolism in the Mechanism of Ginsenoside Re Against Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Gut microbiota and bile acid metabolism play crucial roles in the progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Early evidence demonstrates that Ginsenoside Re (Re) possesses pharmacological effects on NAFLD, but its mechanisms of action are not well understood. This study aimed to investigate the hepatic protective effects of Re in NAFLD and elucidate relevant mechanisms. The effects of Re treatments (10, 20, or 40 mg/kg) against high-fat diet-induced NAFLD were initially tested on male C57BL/6 mice. Then, a separate mouse group received Re with or without antibiotics to confirm the regulatory role of microbiota in the effect of Re. Finally, another group of mice received fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) from the initial experiment of NAFLD mice to further investigate the mechanistic role of gut microbiota. Re significantly improved liver function by reducing hepatic lipid accumulation, injury and hepatocyte steatosis, and inflammation. The liver protection was mediated by the regulation of gut microbiota as evidenced by restored intestinal barrier integrity, normalized Firmicutes/Bacteroidota ratio, enhanced abundances of Adlercreutzia equolifaciens , and reduced Faecalibaculum rodentium. Following that, Re reduced total and primary bile acids and downregulated bile acid synthesis genes and proteins such as farnesoid X receptor and cytochrome P450 family 7 subfamily A member 1. The co-administration of antibiotic cocktail counteracted the effect of Re against NAFLD. Further, the results obtained from the FMT animal study confirmed that Re's liver protective effects were at least partly driven by the regulation of gut microbiota. Re modulated bile salt hydrolase-related microbial genera to alter bile acid synthesis pathways, thereby inhibiting NAFLD progression.

Effect of Bojanggunbi-tang and its primary constituent herbs on the gastrointestinal tract: a scoping review

Background

Bojanggunbi-tang (BGT), a herbal prescription used in traditional Korean medicine, has been used to treat various gastrointestinal (GI) diseases.

Methods

Studies on BGT published until May 2024 were retrieved from the electronic databases of Medline, CENTRAL, Embase, AMED, CNKI, CiNii, Kmbase, KISS, NDSL, and OASIS using GI-related terms. All study types, regardless of the research method or language, were eligible for inclusion. Additional articles on Lonicera japonica, Atractylodes macrocephala, and Alisma canaliculatum, which are key components of BGT, were retrieved from the databases of Medline, CENTRAL, Embase, and Web of Science using GI-specific terms. The basic information, research models, administration methods, evaluation methods, and treatment outcomes of the selected studies were examined subsequently.

Results

Fourteen studies, comprising nine animal studies, one cell-based study, and four human studies, were included in the final analysis. BGT was found to exhibit anti-inflammatory effects, promote restoration of the gastrointestinal mucosa, and regulate GI motility. Analysis of the key herbal components L. japonica, A. macrocephala, and A. canaliculatum revealed that they inhibit inflammatory cytokines and oxidative substances, regulate serotonin and cholinergic pathways, and modulate intestinal microbiota.

Conclusion

This scoping review confirmed the therapeutic potential and mechanisms of action of BGT and its main components, L. japonica, A. macrocephala, and A. canaliculatum, thereby indicating its ability to enhance GI health. Further studies, including randomized clinical trials, must be conducted in the future to confirm these findings.

Scoping review registration

The study was registered in OSF, an international scoping review database: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/ATU4S.

Geographical Origin Traceability of Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma Based on Chemical Composition, Chromaticity, and Electronic Nose

Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma (AMR) is a traditional Chinese medicine used for gastrointestinal diseases. With increased demand, there are more and more places of cultivation for AMR. However, the quality of AMR varies from place to place, and there is no good way to distinguish AMR from different origins at present. In this paper, we determined the content of eight chemical components including 60% ethanol extracts, essential oil, polysaccharides, atractylenolides, and atractylone, obtained the color parameters of AMR powder by colorimetry, and odor information was captured by the electronic nose, all of which were combined with machine learning to establish a rapid origin traceability method. The results of the principal component analysis of the chemical components revealed that Zhejiang AMR has a high comprehensive score and overall better quality. The Kruskal-Wallis test demonstrated that there are varying degrees of differences in chemical composition and color parameters across the different origin. However, the accuracy of the classification model is low (less than 80%), making it difficult to distinguish between different origins of AMR. The electronic nose demonstrated excellent classification performance in the traceability of AMR from different origins, with accuracy reaching more than 90% (PLS-DA: 96.88%, BPNN: 96.88%, PSO-SVM: 100%). Overall, this study clarified the quality differences of AMR among different origins, and a rapid and precise method combining machine learning was developed to trace the origin of AMR.

Metagenomes and metagenome-assembled genomes from ex vivo fecal incubations of six unique donors

We present a donor-specific collection of 78 metagenomes (13/donor) and 143 metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs), representing the gut microbiomes of six healthy adult human donors. In addition to adding to the catalog of publicly available human gut MAGs, this resource permits a genome-resolved look into microbial co-occurrence across six individuals.