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The rising incidence rate of depression presents a substantial threat to human well‐being. Semen Trigonellae (ST), the dried mature seeds of Trigonella foenum‐graecum L., has a long‐standing traditional reputation for alleviating anxiety and hopelessness. However, the anti‐depressant mechanism of ST remains poorly understood. This study aimed to assess ST's anti‐depressant, as well as explore its potential mechanism from a gut microbial aspect. The Kunming mice were challenged by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to induce depression‐like behavior and then orally administrated with aqueous extract of ST. The behavioral test, and hippocampal and serum biochemical indicators were detected to assess anti‐depressant effect of ST. We utilized full‐length 16S rRNA gene sequencing to investigate how ST influences gut microbiota modulation. Administration of ST mitigated LPS‐induced depression‐like behaviors. ST reversed the decrease in hippocampal 5‐hydroxytryptamine (5‐HT) and brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels while reducing serum levels of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF‐α), interleukin 1β (IL‐1β), and interleukin 6 (IL‐6). Microbial analysis revealed that administration of ST markedly shifted the gut microbiota structure, dramatically and dose‐dependently increased the abundance of Ligilactobacillus murinus and Ligilactobacillus animalis. Experimentally, oral administration of live L. murinus and L. animalis to LPS‐challenged mice yielded similar effects to ST in ameliorating depression, elevating 5‐HT and BDNF, and reducing proinflammatory cytokines. These findings provide evidence that ST is a promising medical food for the management of depression, in which modulation of the gut microbiota, particularly enhancing the abundance of Ligilactobacillus plays an important role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: While the gut microbiota and gut–brain sNPF are known to play crucial roles in diet restriction, research on their response to feed deprivation and starvation stress remains limited. This work investigated the alterations in the gut microbiota of juvenile mud crabs under feed deprivation and starvation conditions and identified the location of sNPF in the brain and gut. This suggests a potential interplay between diet restriction, gut microbiota, and gut–brain sNPF. The increased expression levels of sNPF across various levels of feed deprivation further support this notion. This study suggests that sNPF may regulate digestive activities and immunity through interactions with the gut microbiota. These findings provide novel insights into the dynamic interplay between the gut microbiota and sNPF in response to diet restriction, emphasizing their crucial roles in physiological adaptation to starvation stress. Aquatic animals frequently undergo feed deprivation and starvation stress. It is well-known that the gut microbiota and the gut–brain short neuropeptide F (sNPF) play essential roles in diet restriction. Therefore, investigating the responses of the gut microbiota and sNPF can enhance our understanding of physiological adaptations to feed deprivation and starvation stress. In this study, we examined the alterations in the gut microbiota of juvenile mud crabs under feed deprivation and starvation conditions. The results reveal differences in the richness and diversity of gut microbiota among the satisfied, half food, and starvation groups. Moreover, the microbial composition was affected by starvation stress, and more than 30 bacterial taxa exhibited significantly different abundances among the three feeding conditions. These results indicate that the diversity and composition of the gut microbiota are influenced by diet restriction, potentially involving interactions with the gut–brain sNPF. Subsequently, we detected the location of sNPF in the brains and guts of mud crabs through immunofluorescence and investigated the expression profile of sNPF under different feeding conditions. The results suggest that sNPF is located in both the brains and guts of mud crabs and shows increased expression levels among different degrees of diet restriction during a 96 h period. This study suggested a potential role for sNPF in regulating digestive activities and immunity through interactions with the gut microbiota. In conclusion, these findings significantly contribute to our understanding of the dynamic changes in gut microbiota and sNPF, highlighting their interplay in response to diet restriction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Multi-omics reveals specific gut microbes and fecal/serum/urinary metabolites are closely related with AMI. • Combination of gut bacteria and fecal/urinary metabolites provides an effective and non-invasive biomarker set for AMI. • We provide a potential effective and non-invasive biomarker set for the prediction of AMI, thus contributing to early warning of AMI for patients with sCAD. Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) accounts for the majority of deaths caused by coronary artery disease (CAD). Early warning of AMI, especially for patients with stable coronary artery disease (sCAD), is urgently needed. Our previous study showed that alterations in the gut microbiota were correlated with CAD severity. Herein, we tried to discover accurate and convenient biomarkers for AMI by combination of gut microbiota and fecal/blood/urinary metabolomics. We recruited 190 volunteers including 93 sCAD patients, 49 AMI patients, and 48 subjects with normal coronary artery (NCA), and measured their blood biochemical parameters, 16S rRNA-based gut microbiota and NMR-based fecal/blood/urinary metabolites. We further selected 20 subjects from each group and analyzed their gut microbiota by whole-metagenome shotgun sequencing. Multi-omic analyses revealed that AMI patients exhibited specific changes in gut microbiota and serum/urinary/fecal metabolites as compared to subjects with sCAD or NCA. Fourteen bacterial genera and 30 metabolites (11 in feces, 10 in blood, 9 in urine) were closely related to AMI phenotypes and could accurately distinguish AMI patients from sCAD patients. Some species belonging to Alistipes , Streptococcus , Ruminococcus , Lactobacillus and Faecalibacterium were effective to distinguish AMI from sCAD and their predictive ability was confirmed in an independent cohort of CAD patients. We further selected nine indicators including 4 bacterial genera, 3 fecal and 2 urinary metabolites as a noninvasive biomarker set which can distinguish AMI from sCAD with an AUC of 0.932. Combination of gut microbiota and fecal/urinary metabolites provided a set of potential useful and noninvasive predictive biomarker for AMI from sCAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Mulberry leaf-derived green tea possesses higher level of chemical component. • Mulberry leaf-derived green tea presents superior lipid-lowering efficacy. • Gut microbiota and metabolites correlate with lipid-lowering effect of mulberry leaf tea. • Targeting gut microbiota by functional food could be profit to lipid metabolism. Mulberry leaf has potential in lipid-lowering. Here, we compared the chemical composition and lipid-lowering effects of different mulberry leaf-derived teas, and investigated their underlying gut microbiome-related mechanisms. The main components of mulberry leaf-derived tea were flavonoids, phenolic acids and alkaloids, with green tea (0.60% polyphenols, 3.35% polysaccharides, 0.20% DNJ) containing higher levels than black tea (0.40% polyphenols, 2.95% polysaccharides, 0.15% DNJ). Accordingly, the lipid-lowering efficacy of green tea was superior to that of black tea in high-fat (HFD)-induced hyperlipidemic mice. Black tea increased 2 genera and 130 metabolites, decreased 6 genera and 90 metabolites, while green tea increased 5 genera and 127 metabolites, decreased 15 genera and 64 metabolites. Correlation analysis showed that the alterations of gut microbiota and metabolic profiles caused by mulberry leaf tea were tightly associated with its lipid-lowering effect. Altogether, this study provided a promising functional food targeting gut microbiota for the management of lipid metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The meridian (GuiJing) theory is a unique theory of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) which has been guiding the clinical practice of TCM for thousands of years, but physiological foundation of TCM's meridian remains to be clarified. Recent investigations have marked gut microbiota as a key mediator for the pharmacological effects of various TCMs. However, most studies focus on the response of gut microbes to a single drug or formula, the interactive effects of different drugs on gut microbiota are scarcely investigated. In this work, we evaluated the co-regulatory effects of different TCMs on gut microbiota when they were individually combined with Coptis chinensis (HL), and assessed the relationship between gut microbiota and the GuiJing of TCMs. Normal C57BL/6 mice were gavaged with HL extract for 14 days to disrupt the gut microbial community. Simultaneously, animals were treated with different TCMs which all possess antimicrobial activity but belong to different meridians. The gut microbiota was analyzed by full-length 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing to get a thorough bacterial profile at the species level. Administration of HL dramatically disrupted the gut microbiota and decreased the alpha diversity. Co-administration of different TCMs alleviated the adverse impact of HL on gut microbiota in a meridian-dependent manner. TCMs belonging to Shaoyin meridian moderately shifted the gut microbiota, while TCMs belonging to Taiyin and especially Jueyin meridians remarkably recovered the gut microbial community to the normal status. Decreased Firmicutes (Clostridia and Bacilli) and Actinobacteria (Bifidobacteriales) and increased Proteobacteria (Enterobacteriaceae) were main features of HL-induced gut dysbiosis. TCMs belonging to Shaoyin, Taiyin and Jueyin meridians gradually reversed the abundance of these bacteria to their normal levels. Simultaneously, the promoting effect of HL on beneficial bacteria such as Akkermansia muciniphila and Blautia coccoides was substantially preserved when co-administration of these TCMs, suggesting that co-treatment with these TCMs may reduce the toxicity of HL without deteriorating its beneficial effects. Combination of special TCMs may alleviate the adverse effect of HL on gut microbiota while preserving its beneficial actions. Gut microbiota may be a potential biological indicator of the meridian of TCMs. [Display omitted] • Co-administration of TCMs alleviated the adverse impact of HL. • TCMs belonging to Shaoyin meridian moderately shifted the gut microbiota. • Taiyin- and especially Jueyin-targeting TCMs subtantailly recovered gut microbiota. • Gut microbiota may be a modern biological interpretation for TCM meridian theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The property theory of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a unique medical theory based on an extensive clinical practice for thousands of years, which guides TCM doctors choosing proper medicines to treat specific diseases. The nature and flavor of TCM are a high generalization of drug's characteristics according to the property theory. Despite intensive investigations, the modern interpretation of TCM property theory still confronts several challenges, which greatly hampers the elucidation of TCM's mechanisms as well as its application. Compelling evidence has proved that gut microbiota may be a potential indicator for TCM's efficacy and mechanism. Nevertheless, at present, the relationship between the gut microbiota and the nature and flavor of TCM has not been fully elucidated. To fill the gap in this field, we developed a comprehensive study to investigate the relationship between gut microbial community and TCM's property. We searched "PubMed" and "China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI)" with the key word "gut microbiota", and screened the published articles related to TCM. In this review, we mainly applied cold-natured and sweet-flavored TCMs as an example to explore the modulation of cold-natured and sweet-flavored TCMs on gut microbiota, and identify the potential relationship between the alterations of gut microbiota and TCM's efficacy. We found cold-natured and sweet-flavored TCMs possess several pharmacological activities and generally enrich beneficial bacteria like Akkermansia , Bacteroides , Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium , which is in good accordance with their pharmacological effects. Simultaneously, these TCMs reduce the relative abundance of some harmful bacteria belonging to Firmicutes (Streptpcoccus , Enterococcu s, Turicibacter , Anaerostipes and Oscillibacter) and Proteobacteria (Helicobacter , Enterobacter , Sutterella , Klebsiella , Desulfovibrio , Escherichia coli and Campylobacter jejuni). These results indicate that there are some intrinsic correlations between gut microbiota and the property of TCM, and gut microbiota may serve as a potential indicator to reflect the property of TCM. This pilot but comprehensive review provides an interesting proposal that the ancient theory of TCM property may be interpreted by the modern biological findings in gut microbiome. [Display omitted] • Cold-natured and sweet-flavored TCMs altered the composition of gut microbiota. • The efficacy of cold-natured and sweet-flavored TCM is related with its alteration of gut microbiota. • Gut microbiota may serve as a potential indicator to reflect the property of TCM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coptidis Rhizoma exhibits potent effects on ameliorating metabolic disease through modulation of gut bacteria. Gut fungi play a significant role on the homeostasis of the intestinal microecosystem and several types of metabolic disorders. Previous studies have mainly concentrated on the function of bacteria on the beneficial effects of Coptidis Rhizoma and its main component berberine, but whether gut fungi are linked to the improvement of glycolipid metabolism disorder of Coptidis Rhizoma is not clear. Here, the anti-hyperlipidemic effects of Coptidis Rhizoma was firstly confirmed in the high fat diet (HFD)-induced mice. The changes of gut fungi and bacteria of the mice treated with Coptidis Rhizoma and the interaction of intestinal fungi and bacteria were investigated. Coptidis Rhizoma significantly decreased serum lipids and inhibited the hepatic lipid accumulation in the HFD-fed mice. Mechanistically, Coptidis Rhizoma reduced the diversity of gut bacteria and fungi, meanwhile changed their composition. Fungus Aspergillus species (A. chevalieri , A. luteovirescens , A. oryzae , A. sp. F51) and Penicillium (P. expansum , P. janthinellum , P. sp. BAB-5649 and P. sp. GZU-BCECYN66-5) were decreased in Coptidis Rhizoma -treated group, while Tilletia bornmuelleri , Tilletia bromi were increased. Furthermore, there are complex association between intestinal fungi and bacteria. For example, fungus Aspergillus (Aspergillus chevalieri , Aspergillus luteovirescens , Aspergillus oryzae) was negative associated with bacterium Blautia coccoides , but positive associated with Lactobacillus (L. johnsonii , L. sparagasseri , L. taiwanensis , L. amylovorus). These results demonstrated that Coptidis Rhizoma might exhibit anti-hyperlipidemic effects through modulation of the intestinal bacteria and fungi composition, and regulation their interaction. [Display omitted] • CR shifts both gut bacterial and gut fungal community in mice. • The interaction between gut fungi and bacteria is complex after CR treatment. • CR might prevent hyperlipidemia via modulating fungi-bacteria interaction. • Targeted fungi-bacteria interaction is a new approach to manage metabolic disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Property theory is a unique principle guiding traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) that classifies various TCMs into four natures (hot, warm, cool, and cold) to reflect their medical actions on the human body. Despite successful application for thousands of years, characterizing the nature of medical TCMs by modern physiological indicators remains a challenge.Purpose: In this study, we investigated the potential relationship between the nature of TCMs and their modulation of the gut microbiota.Study Design: We selected twelve TCMs with hot, warm, cool, or cold natures that possess antidiarrheal effects. Their aqueous extracts were orally administered to C57BL/6 mice at a clinical dose for 4 weeks. The gut microbiota was measured by 16S rRNA-based metagenomics, and the correlation between microbial composition/function and TCM nature was analyzed.Results: Antidiarrheal TCMs with different natures showed distinct impacts on the gut microbiota. Hot-natured TCMs had no influence on the gut microbiota, warm-natured TCMs had a moderate influence, cool-natured TCMs had a strong influence, and cold-natured TCMs substantially changed the structure of the gut microbial community. The abundance of Anaerotruncus, Tyzzerella and Ruminiclostridium steadily increased, while that of Ruminococcaceae_UCG-010, Parasutterella and Bifidobacterium continuously decreased as the herbal nature turned from cold to hot. Microbiome functional prediction for Cluster of Orthologous Groups (COG) of proteins and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) categories showed that colder TCMs imposed a stronger influence on microbial functional repertoires. Specifically, the abundance of ABC transporters, key bacterial proteins involved in nutrient absorption and drug resistance, was gradually decreased by colder TCMs.Conclusion: Our results demonstrated that the nature of TCMs could be reflected by their modulation of gut microbes. Cold TCMs may exert their antidiarrheal effects, at least partially, by modulating the gut microbiota, while hot TCMs may alleviate dysentery in other ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]