Gut microbiota, a new frontier to understand traditional Chinese medicines

Herbal Therapy for the Treatment of Acetaminophen-Associated Liver Injury: Recent Advances and Future Perspectives

“…Recently, gut microbiota was identified to play a key role in the diurnal variation of APAP-induced hepatotoxicity (Gong et al, 2018). Accumulating evidence implicates herbals could treat disease by regulating the gut microbiota (Tong et al, 2018;Anlu et al, 2019;Feng et al, 2019). More studies are needed to verify whether the hepatoprotective effect of natural products through this novel mechanism.…”

Metabolite identification of gut microflora‑cassia seed interactions using UPLC‑QTOF/MS

“…The chemical composition of compounds, including prototypes and metabolites, is the basis of the effect of traditional Chinese medicine (1,2). The majority of Chinese medicines enter into the body via oral administration and thus, interact with intestinal microbes (3). A number of Chinese herbal medicines play a therapeutic role primarily via intestinal flora metabolism, which has become a popular research topic (2,3).…”

“…The majority of Chinese medicines enter into the body via oral administration and thus, interact with intestinal microbes (3). A number of Chinese herbal medicines play a therapeutic role primarily via intestinal flora metabolism, which has become a popular research topic (2,3).…”

“…Certain chemical components of traditional Chinese medicine can inhibit or promote the growth of certain bacteria, altering the composition of the intestinal microflora (5). Conversely, intestinal microflora can alter the metabolism of Chinese herbal medicine directly, by reductive or hydrolytic reactions, or indirectly, by producing a variety of enzymes, amino acids and vitamins, such as N-acyl-3-hydroxyglycines and β-glucuronidases, β-glucosidase and dioxygenase (3,6,7). Therefore, investigating the role of intestinal microflora in the transformation and metabolism of the components of Chinese medicines may aid in further understanding the metabolic pathways of intestinal microflora and the potential mechanisms of action of Chinese medicines in the body.…”

Metabolic profile analysis of Zhi-zi-chi decoction in feces of normal and chronic unpredictable mild stress-induced depression rats based on UHPLC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS/MS and multiple analytical strategies

“…2,5 However, the metabolism of ZZCD in feces has never been explored yet. Due to the existence of gut microbiota, the intestinal tract can act as an organ with a metabolic potential at least equal to that of the liver, 6,7 particularly for TCMPs that are administered orally. The gut microbiota express various enzymes that can metabolically activate, inactivate, or reactivate drugs.…”