Cold- and hot-classified botanical drugs differentially modulate gut microbiota: linking TCM emic classification to microbial ecology.

INTRODUCTION

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) classifies botanical drugs based on their thermal properties (an emic classification system), categorizing them as "cold" (e.g., "clearing heat" for anti-inflammatory effects) or "hot" (e.g., "warming the middle" for metabolic enhancement). However, the specific roles of these botanical drugs in restoring gut microbiota dysbiosis remain unclear. This study aimed to explore whether TCM-classified cold and hot botanical drugs differentially restore gut microbiota dysbiosis and host physiology in antibiotic-treated mice.

METHODS

Mice with antibiotic-induced dysbiosis were treated with eight TCM-classified botanical drugs (four cold: L., Georgi, Mill., Franch.; four hot: (Franch.) Nannf., (Fisch.) Bunge, (Oliv.) Diels, C.A.Mey.) for 20 days. Gut microbiota were analyzed via 16S rRNA sequencing on days 5, 10, 15, and 20, alongside physiological parameters including blood glucose, serum lipids, TNF-α, adiponectin, and intestinal histomorphology.

RESULTS

By day 20, all botanical drugs restored the diversity and ranking of dominant genera (those with >10% abundance, such as s and ). However, cold-classified drugs, traditionally associated with anti-inflammatory effects, selectively enriched anti-inflammatory taxa, including and . In contrast, hot-classified drugs, linked to metabolic enhancement, promoted metabolic-modulating genera such as and . These differential enrichments corresponded with the therapeutic principles defined by TCM: cold-classified drugs reduced serum TNF-α levels ( < 0.01), demonstrating anti-inflammatory effects, whereas hot-classified drugs improved lipid profiles (TG: < 0.001), thereby promoting metabolic modulation.

DISCUSSION

TCM-classified cold and hot botanical drugs universally stabilize dominant microbiota while differentially modulating low-abundance taxa. The enrichment of (cold) and (hot) offers a microbiota-driven validation of TCM's empirical classification framework. These findings connect traditional knowledge with microbial ecology, underscoring the potential of TCM-guided microbiota modulation for precision therapies.