Herbal Formula-3 alleviates food allergy in mice by modulating the composition of the gut microbiota

Formula-3, an herbal medicine formula, had been demonstrated to inhibit food allergy in rats by stabilizing mast cells. However, it is not clear how Formula-3 modulates the composition of the intestinal microbiota and alleviates food allergy. We performed 16S rDNA sequencing of gut metagenome in fecal samples, and investigated the effect of Formula-3 on healthy mice and food allergy (FA) mice. We found that Formula-3 decreased gut community richness, increased Lactobacillus and the Bacteroides-to-Prevotella ratio in mice. Additionally, it altered the functional pathways such as energy metabolism and transport system metabolism. It will provide insights into the interaction between herbal formula and gut microbiota, and the potential mechanism of TCMs for disease alleviations.

Formula-3作为一款草药复方，已被证实可通过稳定肥大细胞抑制大鼠的食物过敏反应。然而，目前尚不清楚Formula-3是如何调控肠道菌群组成并缓解食物过敏的。本研究对粪便样本中的肠道宏基因组开展16S rDNA测序，探究了Formula-3对健康小鼠及食物过敏（FA）模型小鼠的干预效果。研究结果显示，Formula-3可降低小鼠肠道菌群群落丰富度，提升乳杆菌属的相对丰度，并提高拟杆菌属与普雷沃氏菌属的丰度比值。此外，该复方还可调控能量代谢、转运系统代谢等功能通路。本研究可为阐明草药复方与肠道菌群的互作关系，以及传统中药（Traditional Chinese Medicines, TCMs）缓解疾病的潜在作用机制提供新的见解。