OBJECTIVES: Recent evidence suggests that the gut may be a primary site of metformin action. However, studies on the effects of metformin on gut microbiota remain limited, and its impact on gut microbial metabolites such as short-/medium-chain fatty acids is unclear. This study aims to investigate the effects of metformin on gut microbiota, short-/medium-chain fatty acids, and associated metabolic benefits in high-fat diet rats. METHODS: Twenty-four Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: 1) Normal diet group (ND group), fed standard chow; 2) high-fat diet group (HFD group), fed a high-fat diet; 3) high-fat diet + metformin treatment group (HFD+Met group), fed a high-fat diet for 8 weeks, followed by daily intragastric administration of metformin solution (150 mg/kg body weight) starting in week 9. At the end of the experiment, all rats were sacrificed, and serum, liver, and colonic contents were collected for assessment of glucose and lipid metabolism, liver pathology, gut microbiota composition, and the concentrations of short-/medium-chain fatty acids. RESULTS: Metformin significantly improved HFD-induced glucose and lipid metabolic disorders and liver injury. Compared with the HFD group, the HFD+Met group showed reduced abundance of Blautia, Romboutsia, Bilophila, and Bacteroides, while Lactobacillus abundance significantly increased (all P<0.05). Colonic contents of butyric acid, 2-methyl butyric acid, valeric acid, octanoic acid, and lauric acid were significantly elevated (all P<0.05), whereas acetic acid, isoheptanoic acid, and nonanoic acid levels were significantly decreased (all P<0.05). Spearman correlation analysis revealed that Lactobacillus abundance was negatively correlated with body weight gain and insulin resistance, while butyrate and valerate levels were negatively correlated with insulin resistance and liver injury (all P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Metformin significantly increases the abundance of beneficial bacteria such as Lactobacillus and promotes the production of short-/medium-chain fatty acids including butyric, valeric, and lauric acid in the colonic contents of HFD rats, suggesting that metformin may regulate host metabolism through modulation of the gut microbiota.
Animals ; Metformin/pharmacology* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Diet, High-Fat/adverse effects* ; Rats ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome/drug effects* ; Male ; Fatty Acids, Volatile/metabolism* ; Fatty Acids/metabolism*

Ankylosing spondylitis is an autoimmune disease with sacroiliac arthritis and spinal arthritis as the main manifestations.The disease mainly occurs in young men,has a high disability rate,and is a serious threat to the life and health of patients.Biological agents are expensive,and many adverse reactions to hormones,non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs,and anti-rheumatic drugs have been recorded.Traditional Chinese medicine can regulate the immunity and anti-inflammatory effects of the disease,and has good clinical effects.To promote the further study of the pathogenesis of ankylosing spondylitis and the development and screening of therapeutic drugs and therapies,in this paper,we summarize the method and mechanisms of modeling of the existing animal model of ankylosing spondylitis and analyze the advantages and disadvantages of the model.To evaluate the agreements between Chinese and Western medicine clinical characteristics,we compare the characteristics of Chinese and Western medical syndromes of the animal model.Building an animal model of ankylosing spondylitis with a higher degree of consistency between traditional Chinese and Western medicine is the key to innovative research into traditional Chinese medicine method of treating ankylosing spondylitis.To lay the foundation for research into traditional Chinese medicines and acupuncture for ankylosing spondylitis,this paper analyzes the degree of concurrence between the Chinese and Western medicine clinical characteristics of animal models.

Objective To explore the acupoint selection rules in the treatment of perimenopausal syndrome(PMS)with acupuncture by using data mining technology.Methods The clinical research literature on acupuncture treatment of PMS was retrieved from CNKI,Wanfang Data,VIP,CBM,Cochrane Library,Embase,PubMed and ScienceDirect from the establishment of the databases to August 16,2023.Excel 2021 was used to establish a prescription database for acupuncture treatment of PMS,and frequency statistics and classification of acupoints were conducted.SPSS Modeler 18.0 and SPSS Statistics 26.0 software were used to conduct association rules,clustering analysis and decision tree analysis,to explore the characteristics and compatibility rules of acupoint selection in acupuncture and moxibustion treatment of PMS.Results Totally 114 articles were included,including 115 acupoint prescriptions,and 108 acupoints with a total frequency of 787.The high-frequency acupoints were Sanyinjiao,Guanyuan,Shenshu,etc.The commonly used meridians were the bladder meridian and Conception Vessel.The majority specific acupoints were intersection acupoints,wu-shu points and back-shu points.The involved acupoints were mostly located in the lower limbs,abdomen and back.Acupuncture techniques often used the method of flat reinforcement and reduction,with the most commonly used waveform of electroacupuncture being the dilatational wave and the duration of needle retention being 10-30 minutes.The decision tree selected three simplified selection paths based on the dependent variable of Guanyuan.The core acupoints group was analyzed,and 14 groups of association rules and 7 effective cluster groups were obtained.Conclusion Acupuncture treatment of PMS follows the therapeutic principles of tonifying the kidney and harmonizing yin and yang.The acupoint combinations and core acupoint groups obtained from data mining can provide reference for clinical and scientific research.

Objective To explore the clinical acupoint selection law of acupuncture in the treatment of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome(CP/CPPS)by data mining.Methods The clinical research literature on acupuncture treatment of CP/CPPS was retrieved from CNKI,VIP,Wanfang Data,China Biology Medicine Database,Embase,PubMed,Cochrane Library and Web of Science from the establishment of the databases to November 17,2023.The prescription database was established using Excel 2021 to perform frequency statistics of acupoints.SPSS Modeler 18.0 and SPSS Statistics 26.0 were used to conduct association rules,factor analysis and clustering analysis,to explore the characteristics and acupoint selection and compatibility law in acupuncture treatment of CP/CPPS.Results A total of 105 articles was included,and 105 acupoint prescriptions were extracted,involving a total of 75 acupoints,with a total frequency of 611 times.The high-frequency acupoints were Zhongji,Sanyinjiao,Guanyuan,etc.The commonly used meridians were Conception Vessel and the bladder meridian.Jiaohui acupoints,Mu acupoints and Wushu acupoints accounted for the vast majority.The involved acupoints were mostly located in the abdomen,lower limbs,and lumbosacral region.The core acupoints was analyzed,and 19 groups of association rules,8 factors and 8 effective cluster groups were obtained.Conclusion Acupuncture treatment of CP/CPPS follows the therapeutic principles of tonifying the kidney,removing dampness,soothing the liver and removing blood stasis.The core acupoints group is Guanyuan-Zhongji-Sanyinjiao,with differentiation of syndromes and compatibility with other acupoints.

Objective To survey the prevalence of greenhouse farmer's lung and related risk factors in part of rural areas of Liaoning Province.Methods Using uniform scheme,procedures and questionnaire,a survey for 5420 farmers(2660 men and 2760 women)with complete data who work inside greenhouses was performed in Shenyang,Xinmin,Chaoyang,and Jinzhou between August 2006 and June 2009.Pulmonary function tests was performed for every active farmer.Results Greenhouse farmer's lung was diagnosed in 308 cases,205 men(66.55%,205/308)and 103 women(33.44%,103/308),a prevalence of 5.7%(308/5420).The prevalence rate of greenhouse farmer's lung in males was significantly higher than that in females(?2=39.93,P0.05).In the 308 cases,the number of patiernts presented with fever chill,cough/sputum,chest tightness/shortness of breath were 180(58.44%),192(62.34%),160(51.95%)respectively,and the number of crepitations,radiological changes,spirometry abnormalities and serum IgE antibodies(+)was 164(53.25%),153(49.68%),147(47.73%)and 136(44.16%)at the time of the study.62.34%(192/308)of patients with greenhouse farmer's lung were mild and 38.66%(116/308)were severe.Conclusion The total prevalence rate of greenhouse farmer's lung in part of rural areas of Liaoning Province was 5.7% and multiple risk factors were associated with the disease.