Study on the regulation of brain–gut peptide by Shenling Baizhu San in functional diarrhea rats

A systematic review of preclinical studies targeted toward the management of co-existing functional gastrointestinal disorders, stress, and gut dysbiosis

Modern dietary habits and stressed lifestyle have escalated the tendency to develop functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) through alteration in the gut-brain-microbiome axis. Clinical practices use symptomatic treatments, neglect root causes, and prolong distress in patients. The past decade has seen the evolution of various interventions to attenuate FGIDs. But clinical translation of such studies is very rare mostly due to lack of awareness. The aim of this review is to meticulously integrate different studies and bridge this knowledge gap. Literature between 2013 and 2023 was retrieved from PubMed, ProQuest, and Web of Science. The data was extracted based on the PRISMA guidelines and using the SYRCLE's risk of bias and the Cochrane Risk of Bias tools, quality assessment was performed. The review has highlighted molecular insights into the coexistence of FGIDs, stress, and gut dysbiosis. Furthermore, novel interventions focusing on diet, probiotics, herbal formulations, and phytoconstituents were explored which mostly had a multitargeted approach for the management of the diseases. Scientific literature implied positive interactions between the interventions and the gut microbiome by increasing the relative abundance of beneficial bacteria and reducing stress-related hormones. Moreover, the interventions reduced intestinal inflammation and regulated the expression of epithelial tight junction proteins in different in vivo models. This systematic review delves deep into the preclinical interventions to manage coexisting FGIDs, stress, and gut dysbiosis. However, in most of the discussed studies, long-term risks and toxicity profile of the interventions are lacking. So, it is necessary to highlight them for improved clinical outcomes.

Metabolomics analysis of Pulsatilla decoction on treatment of wetness-heat-induced diarrhea in rats based on UPLC-Q/TOF-MS/MS

Pulsatilla decoction (PD) is a classical prescription in traditional Chinese medicine that has therapeutic effects on wetness-heat-induced diarrhea (WHD). To investigate the therapeutic effects of PD in the treatment of WHD and elucidate the potential mechanism, we used a metabolomics strategy on the base of ultraperformance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight/mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q/TOF-MS/MS) and analyzed the serum samples of 32 rats to identify differential metabolites and pathways associated with the PD treatment of WHD. With variable importance for projection >1.0 in the Orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA ) models and FC ≥1.2 or ≤0.8, 67 differential metabolites in the model and control groups and 33 differential metabolites in the model and PD groups were screened. A total of 23 differential metabolites were selected based on Venny analysis. Functional analysis showed that the differential metabolites identified were primarily involved in pentose and glucuronate interconversions, glycerophospholipid metabolism, tryptophan metabolism, starch and sucrose metabolism, and glycerolipid metabolism. This study suggested that PD exerts inhibitory effects on WHD. In particular, the significant roles of PD for treating WHD lie in regulating perturbed energy metabolism, glycerophospholipid metabolism and glycerolipid metabolism, and promoting lysoPC production restoring the function of intestinal tract.