The role of gut microbiota in traditional Chinese medicine processing: A general review

Abstract

Introduction

Traditional Chinese Medicine Processing (TCMP) is an integral component of Chinese medicine culture, playing a crucial role in altering the pharmacological properties of herbs, increasing their efficacy and mitigating their toxicity and adverse reactions, in order to optimize their therapeutic efficacy. Recent research has established a correlation between the gut microbiota (GM) and various physiological systems, implicating their role in disease pathogenesis. Leveraging advancements in high-throughput technologies, GM has become a prominent focus within the realm of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Notably, Chinese herbal remedies exhibit the capacity to modulate GM dysbiosis by influencing its structural and composition. Furthermore, GM actively partakes in the metabolic processing of medicinal compounds, thereby influencing their bioavailability. The application of high-throughput sequencing methodologies enables a comprehensive exploration of the intricate mechanisms through which TCM interact with the host organism via the GM, offering insights into the underlying principles governing herbal processing in Chinese medicine.

Methods

Various scientific research articles in PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science and CNKI, were explored to find the research progress of GM in TCMP. A total of >200 articles since 2015 were explored among which >100 were shortlisted with the keywords: ‘GM’, ‘Chinese medicine’, ‘efficacy enhancing’, ‘attenuation’, ‘medicinal properties’, ‘theory of processing’. And the rest did not explain the mechanism of TCMP from the perspective of GM. The thus selected research articles were carefully read to summarize the latest and most recent developments in writing of this review.

Results

Our study summarizes the application progress of GM in the field of TCMP, with a focus on its role in the theory of processing and its effects on enhancing efficacy, reducing toxicity and altering medicinal properties. The results show that the TCMP could restore the structure and diversity of GM to enhance the efficacy of herbs, reduce the toxic and side effects, and change the nature of action of herbs, mainly by increasing the abundance of beneficial bacteria, reducing the abundance of pathogenic bacteria and regulating the balance of GM and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). This study provides a reference of methods and ideas for the research of the study of the mechanism of TCMP.

Conclusion

GM has a broad application prospect in the study of the mechanism of TCMP. After the intervention in the body within processing of herbs, the structure and diversity of GM was changed, including an increase in beneficial bacteria and a decrease in pathogenic bacteria. Meanwhile, the efficacy was enhanced, the toxicity/side effects were reduced, and the properties were changed to some extent of herbs. They interact with each other. Thus, in-depth research on the molecular mechanism of the GM and the effects of TCMP has a great significance for the modernization and internationalization of TCM.