School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong.
Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, Affiliated Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210028, P.R. China.
Med Res Rev. 2017 Sep;37(5):1140-1185. doi: 10.1002/med.21431. Epub 2017 Jan 4.
Herbal medicines (HMs) are much appreciated for their significant contribution to human survival and reproduction by remedial and prophylactic management of diseases. Defining the scientific basis of HMs will substantiate their value and promote their modernization. Ever-increasing evidence suggests that gut microbiota plays a crucial role in HM therapy by complicated interplay with HM components. This interplay includes such activities as: gut microbiota biotransforming HM chemicals into metabolites that harbor different bioavailability and bioactivity/toxicity from their precursors; HM chemicals improving the composition of gut microbiota, consequently ameliorating its dysfunction as well as associated pathological conditions; and gut microbiota mediating the interactions (synergistic and antagonistic) between the multiple chemicals in HMs. More advanced experimental designs are recommended for future study, such as overall chemical characterization of gut microbiota-metabolized HMs, direct microbial analysis of HM-targeted gut microbiota, and precise gut microbiota research model development. The outcomes of such research can further elucidate the interactions between HMs and gut microbiota, thereby opening a new window for defining the scientific basis of HMs and for guiding HM-based drug discovery.
草药（HMs）通过对疾病的治疗和预防管理，为人类的生存和繁衍做出了巨大贡献，深受人们的赞赏。定义草药的科学基础将证实其价值，并促进其现代化。越来越多的证据表明，肠道微生物群通过与草药成分的复杂相互作用，在草药治疗中起着至关重要的作用。这种相互作用包括以下活动：肠道微生物群将草药中的化学物质生物转化为代谢物，这些代谢物与其前体相比具有不同的生物利用度和生物活性/毒性；草药化学物质改善肠道微生物群的组成，从而改善其功能障碍以及相关的病理状况；肠道微生物群介导草药中多种化学物质之间的相互作用（协同和拮抗）。建议未来的研究采用更先进的实验设计，例如对肠道微生物群代谢的草药进行全面的化学特征分析、对草药靶向肠道微生物群进行直接微生物分析，以及开发精确的肠道微生物群研究模型。这些研究的结果可以进一步阐明草药与肠道微生物群之间的相互作用，从而为定义草药的科学基础和指导基于草药的药物发现开辟新的途径。
