Yang Huan, Shao Chenyi, Liu Zhihao, Zhang Xiaoyu, Liu Yinhui, Xiao Jing, Tang Li
Department of Microecology, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China.
Department of Oral Pathology, College of Stomatology, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China.
Front Pharmacol. 2025 May 16;16:1545619. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1545619. eCollection 2025.
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.
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.
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.
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.
传统中医（TCM）根据植物药的寒热特性（一种本土分类系统）对其进行分类，将它们归类为“寒性”（例如，具有“清热”作用以产生抗炎效果）或“热性”（例如，具有“温中”作用以增强新陈代谢）。然而，这些植物药在恢复肠道微生物群失调方面的具体作用仍不清楚。本研究旨在探讨按照中医分类的寒性和热性植物药是否能不同程度地恢复抗生素处理小鼠的肠道微生物群失调和宿主生理功能。
用八种按照中医分类的植物药（四种寒性：[具体植物名称1]、[具体植物名称2]、[具体植物名称3]、[具体植物名称4]；四种热性：[具体植物名称5]、[具体植物名称6]、[具体植物名称7]、[具体植物名称8]）对患有抗生素诱导失调的小鼠进行为期20天的治疗。在第5、10、15和20天通过16S rRNA测序分析肠道微生物群，同时分析包括血糖、血脂、肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）、脂联素和肠道组织形态学在内的生理参数。
到第20天，所有植物药都恢复了优势菌属（丰度>10%的菌属，如[优势菌属1]和[优势菌属2]）的多样性和排名。然而，传统上与抗炎作用相关的寒性分类药物选择性地富集了抗炎类群，包括[抗炎类群1]和[抗炎类群2]。相比之下，与代谢增强相关的热性分类药物促进了如[代谢调节类群1]和[代谢调节类群2]等代谢调节菌属的生长。这些不同的富集与中医定义的治疗原则相对应：寒性分类药物降低了血清TNF-α水平（P<0.01），显示出抗炎作用，而热性分类药物改善了脂质谱（甘油三酯：P<0.001），从而促进了代谢调节。
按照中医分类的寒性和热性植物药普遍能稳定优势微生物群，同时不同程度地调节低丰度类群。[寒性分类中的特定菌属]和[热性分类中的特定菌属]的富集为中医的经验分类框架提供了微生物群驱动的验证。这些发现将传统知识与微生物生态学联系起来，强调了中医指导的微生物群调节在精准治疗中的潜力。
