Exploring Intervention Effect of Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma Processed with Aurantii Fructus Immaturus Juice on Slow-transit Constipation and Its "Microbiota-Metabolism" Synergistic Regulation Mechanism Based on Theory of "Spleen Governing Transportation and Transformation"
10.13422/j.cnki.syfjx.20260161
- VernacularTitle:基于“脾主运化”理论探究枳实汁制白术改善慢传输型便秘的干预作用及“菌群-代谢”协同调控机制
- Author:
Dan LI
1
;
Xiaoxia LIU
1
;
Xiaofen WANG
1
;
Zuxin HE
2
;
Junnan WEI
1
;
Yanqing LIU
1
;
Yuxuan GAO
1
;
Ping LUO
1
;
Fang WANG
1
Author Information
1. Mass Spectrometry Diagnosis & Treatment and Chronic Disease Rehabilitation Research Center， Jiangxi University of Chinese Medicine，Nanchang 330004，China
2. Sichuan Chuanjikang Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.，Mianyang 622651，China
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
slow-transit constipation;
gut microbiota;
Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma;
Aurantii Fructus Immaturus;
arachidonic acid metabolism;
aldosterone;
synergistic regulation
- From:
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae
2026;32(10):201-209
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
ObjectiveBased on the theory of "spleen governing transportation and transformation"， this study investigates the efficacy of Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma processed with Aurantii Fructus Immaturus juice（AMR-AFI） in improving slow-transit constipation（STC）， as well as the synergistic regulatory mechanism involving the microbiota-metabolism axis， thereby elucidating the scientific basis of its processing theory. MethodsAnimals were randomly divided into the control group， model group， positive drug（mosapride） group（3 mg·kg-1）， and low-， medium-， and high-dose groups of AMR-AFI（3.9， 7.8， 15.6 g·kg-1）. Except for the control group， the remaining five groups were induced with STC using loperamide hydrochloride. Following modeling， interventions were administered. All groups received continuous administration for 15 d， during which fecal samples， colon tissue， and serum were collected. Constipation improvement was assessed by measuring fecal moisture content and small intestinal propulsion rate， histological morphology of colonic tissue was observed via hematoxylin-eosin（HE） staining， and the levels of interleukin（IL）-6， tumor necrosis factor（TNF）-α， and IL-2 in serum were detected using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA）. Furthermore， the microbial community structure in mouse feces was analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing， while transcriptomic sequencing was employed to screen differentially expressed genes in colonic tissue， followed by gene ontology（GO） and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes（KEGG） enrichment analyses. Finally， Spearman correlation analysis was conducted to explore the association between differential microbiota and differential genes. ResultsCompared with the control group， the intestinal propulsion rate and fecal moisture content in the model group were significantly decreased（P<0.01）， while serum levels of IL-6， TNF-α， and IL-2 were significantly elevated（P<0.01）. HE staining showed damage and shedding of colonic mucosal epithelial cells， along with a reduction in goblet cells in the model group. In comparison with the model group， all treatment groups improved the pathological state of the colonic mucosa to varying degrees and reduced serum levels of IL-6， TNF-α， and IL-2（P<0.01）. Among these， the high-dose group of AMR-AFI significantly increased the intestinal propulsion rate and fecal moisture content of rats（P<0.05， P<0.01）. Further transcriptomic analysis revealed that a total of 104 differentially expressed genes were identified from comparisons between the model group and the control group， as well as between the model group and the high-dose group of AMR-AFI. These genes were mainly enriched in pathways closely related to STC pathogenesis， such as arachidonic acid metabolism and aldosterone-regulated sodium reabsorption. 16S rRNA sequencing results indicated that AMR-AFI reversed the structural imbalance of the gut microbiota in model mice， increased species richness， downregulated the relative abundance of pro-inflammatory bacteria such as Parasutterella， and enriched beneficial and butyrate-producing bacteria， including Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group， Ruminococcaceae， and Lachnospiraceae. Spearman correlation analysis further showed that the beneficial bacteria enriched in the AMR-AFI group were negatively correlated with genes involved in the arachidonic acid metabolic pathway and positively correlated with genes in the aldosterone-regulated sodium reabsorption pathway. In contrast， pro-inflammatory bacteria in the model group exhibited the opposite correlation trends. ConclusionAMR-AFI can effectively exert synergistic therapeutic effects on STC by regulating intestinal microbiota， arachidonic acid-mediated inflammatory metabolism， and aldosterone-regulated water-salt balance pathways.
