The Therapeutic Effects of Magnolia Officinalis Extraction on an Antibiotics-Induced Intestinal Dysbacteriosis in Mice

Potential herb‒drug interactions between anti-COVID-19 drugs and traditional Chinese medicine

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has spread worldwide. Effective treatments against COVID-19 remain urgently in need although vaccination significantly reduces the incidence, hospitalization, and mortality. At present, antiviral drugs including Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir (PaxlovidTM), Remdesivir, and Molnupiravir have been authorized to treat COVID-19 and become more globally available. On the other hand, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been used for the treatment of epidemic diseases for a long history. Currently, various TCM formulae against COVID-19 such as Qingfei Paidu decoction, Xuanfei Baidu granule, Huashi Baidu granule, Jinhua Qinggan granule, Lianhua Qingwen capsule, and Xuebijing injection have been widely used in clinical practice in China, which may cause potential herb-drug interactions (HDIs) in patients under treatment with antiviral drugs and affect the efficacy and safety of medicines. However, information on potential HDIs between the above anti-COVID-19 drugs and TCM formulae is lacking, and thus this work seeks to summarize and highlight potential HDIs between antiviral drugs and TCM formulae against COVID-19, and especially pharmacokinetic HDIs mediated by metabolizing enzymes and/or transporters. These well-characterized HDIs could provide useful information on clinical concomitant medicine use to maximize clinical outcomes and minimize adverse and toxic effects.

The Wu-Shi-Cha formula protects against ulcerative colitis by orchestrating immunity and microbiota homeostasis

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Ulcerative colitis (UC) has become a healthy burden worldwide due to its insidious onset and repetitive relapse, with a rather complex etiology, including inappropriate immune response, dysbiosis, genetic susceptibility, and unhealthy diets. The Wu-Shi-Cha (WSC) formula is a widely utilized drug to protect against gastrointestinal disorders.

AIM OF THE STUDY

The study aspired to dissect the pertinent mechanisms of the WSC to treat UC.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Network pharmacology and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) were performed to predict the targets of WSC in the context of UC and colorectal cancer. Dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) was used to construct murine models of experimental colitis, and the WSC was given to colitis mice for 14 days. Feces and colon samples were subjected to 16S rRNA gene sequencing combined with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and biochemical experiments, respectively.

RESULTS

Network pharmacology analysis predicted that the WSC formula could orchestrate inflammation, infection, and tumorigenesis, and WGCNA based on The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database showed a potent anti-neoplastic effect of the WSC therapy for colorectal cancer. The WSC therapy rescued bursts of pro-inflammatory cytokines and colonic epithelial collapse in DSS-induced colitis mice. Moreover, the high dose of WSC treatment facilitated the alternative activation of peritoneal macrophages (Mφs) and these Mφs were conducive to the survival of intestinal stem cells (ISCs), and the disturbed homeostasis of gut microbiota was re-established after WSC treatment, as evidenced by the decreased colonization of pathological taxa in the fecal samples.

CONCLUSION

The WSC formula suppresses inflammation and re-establishes the homeostasis of gut microbiota, thereby ameliorating colitis progression.

Effects of Antibiotic Treatment and Probiotics on the Gut Microbiome of 40 Infants Delivered Before Term by Cesarean Section Analysed by Using 16S rRNA Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction Sequencing

BACKGROUND This study aimed to investigate the effects on the gut microbiome of 40 infants delivered before term by cesarean section between antibiotic treatment and probiotics as assessed by 16S rRNA quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) sequencing. MATERIAL AND METHODS We divided 40 premature infants delivered by cesarean section into 4 groups according to exposure to antibiotics or probiotics: N group (No-probiotics and No-antibiotics), A group (antibiotics), P group (probiotics), and the AP group (antibiotics+probiotics). Fecal samples were collected on days 1, 3, and 10, and the microflora data were generated using 16S rRNA qPCR sequencing technology. The BugBase tool was used for phenotype prediction, the Tax4Fun tool was used for function prediction, and iPath software was used to predict the metabolic pathways of intestinal bacteria. RESULTS Antibiotics increased the abundance of pathogenic bacteria and reduced the replication and repair function (P=0.049), nucleotide metabolism function (P=0.047), and the purine metabolism pathways (P<0.05) of the gut microbiota. Probiotics increased the abundance of beneficial bacteria and the cellular community prokaryote function (P=0.042) and contributed to the Bifidobacteria biofilm formation. Probiotics alleviated the damage of antibiotics to the composition and function of the gut microbiota. CONCLUSIONS The findings from this study showed that antibiotic treatment of preterm infants born by cesarean section changed the gut microbiome, but that the use of probiotics could restore the normal microbiome, which supports that restoration of the normal gut microbiota may be achieved with probiotics.