Xie Weiwei, Wang Nan, Wang Ming, Zhang Qian, Li Wenyu, Zhang Huiyi, Jin Yiran, Du Yingfeng
Department of Clinical Pharmacy, The Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China.
Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, School of Pharmacy, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China.
Front Microbiol. 2025 Sep 2;16:1634410. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1634410. eCollection 2025.
Weifuchun Capsule (WFC), a traditional Chinese medicinal formula containing (red ginseng), , and , is widely used clinically for the management of chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG). Although previous clinical evidence has demonstrated the efficacy of WFC in alleviating symptoms and improving gastric mucosal health, the precise mechanisms, particularly those mediated by gut microbiota, remain poorly understood. Given the crucial role of intestinal microbial dysbiosis in gastrointestinal disorders, exploring the microbiota-dependent pharmacological mechanisms of WFC is essential for understanding its therapeutic benefits in CAG.
We established a rat model of CAG to investigate the microbiota-associated mechanisms underlying the effects of WFC treatment. Integrated microbiome-metabolome analyses were performed, combining 16S rRNA gene sequencing for gut microbiota profiling and untargeted metabolomics to detect shifts in metabolic pathways. Network pharmacology identified bioactive compounds from 99 characterized components in WFC, with molecular docking analyses further validating these findings. Correlations between gut microbial composition and metabolic profiles were assessed using Spearman's analysis, and western blotting was employed to evaluate inflammation-associated proteins.
Network pharmacology screening identified 10 bioactive components from the 99 constituents present in WFC. Treatment with WFC significantly restored gut microbiota diversity and composition in CAG rats, notably enriching four bacterial families and ten genera. Metabolomic profiling revealed substantial regulation of glycerophospholipid and arachidonic acid metabolism, pathways intricately linked to microbial activity and gastrointestinal inflammation.
Our findings highlight that modulation of gut microbiota composition is central to the therapeutic effects of WFC on CAG. WFC exerts its gastroprotective activity primarily by reshaping specific gut microbial populations and subsequently normalizing associated metabolic pathways. This microbiome-oriented perspective provides new insights into traditional herbal medicine mechanisms, emphasizing the critical need to understand microbiota-mediated therapeutic strategies in gastrointestinal disorders.
胃复春胶囊（WFC）是一种含有红参、香茶菜、麸炒枳壳的中药方剂，在临床上广泛用于治疗慢性萎缩性胃炎（CAG）。尽管先前的临床证据已证明WFC在缓解症状和改善胃黏膜健康方面的疗效，但其确切机制，尤其是由肠道微生物群介导的机制，仍知之甚少。鉴于肠道微生物失调在胃肠道疾病中的关键作用，探索WFC依赖微生物群的药理机制对于理解其在CAG中的治疗益处至关重要。
我们建立了CAG大鼠模型，以研究WFC治疗效果背后的微生物群相关机制。进行了综合微生物组-代谢组分析，结合16S rRNA基因测序进行肠道微生物群分析和非靶向代谢组学以检测代谢途径的变化。网络药理学从WFC的99种特征成分中鉴定出生物活性化合物，分子对接分析进一步验证了这些发现。使用Spearman分析评估肠道微生物组成与代谢谱之间的相关性，并采用蛋白质印迹法评估炎症相关蛋白。
网络药理学筛选从WFC中的99种成分中鉴定出10种生物活性成分。WFC治疗显著恢复了CAG大鼠肠道微生物群的多样性和组成，显著富集了四个细菌科和十个属。代谢组分析显示甘油磷脂和花生四烯酸代谢受到显著调节，这些途径与微生物活性和胃肠道炎症密切相关。
我们的研究结果表明，肠道微生物群组成的调节是WFC对CAG治疗作用的核心。WFC主要通过重塑特定的肠道微生物群并随后使相关代谢途径正常化来发挥其胃保护活性。这种以微生物组为导向的观点为传统草药机制提供了新的见解，强调了理解胃肠道疾病中微生物群介导的治疗策略的迫切需要。
